Test specifications for material tests and open-hole tests

The project “A Study of Damage Initiation and Growth in Composite Bolted Joints” is funded under the Basic Research Grants Scheme 2002, jointly administered by Enterprise Ireland and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology. It runs from October 2002 to September 2005. The goal of the project is to develop computational models for prediction of the initiation and growth of damage in composite bolted joints. Two approaches will be investigated. The first will be based on a stiffness reduction scheme. The second will be based on continuum damage mechanics. The two approaches will be compared against experimental data generated within the project and also from a previous EU research project, and critically assessed. This report (D3.1a) outlines the proposed specification for the first part of the experimental test series, material characterisation tests and open-hole tests, to be carried out during the course of the project. The proposed specification for the second part of the experimental test series, pin-bearing tests, will be outlined in a future report (D3.1b). This specification has been developed following a review of previous work carried out on the subject of damage initiation and growth in fibre reinforced composite material. It should be noted that the specification will undergo continuous review and may be modified as results are evaluated during the test programme. Section 2 specifies the tests to be performed, Section 3 describes details of specimen manufacture and test. Appendix A describes previous work on the subject of damage initiation and growth in fibre reinforced composite materials.