Strength and mechanical response of C/C composite open-hole and bolted plates

The strength and mechanical responses of C/C composite open-hole and bolted plates were investigated in this paper. The tensile strength of C/C composite open-hole plates was experimentally tested and predicted by the point stress criterion. The effect of hole diameter on tensile strength of C/C composite open-hole plates was studied. The comparison of the predicted and experimental data indicated that the measured tensile strength was in reasonable agreement with the predictions. The bearing characteristic of C/C composite bolted plates was tested, and the effect of ply sequences, bolt diameter and torque on bearing properties was analyzed. The damage mechanism of C/C composite bolted plates was revealed.