Abstract: Carbon fiber reinforced aluminum alloy laminate (CARALL) is a relatively new fiber-metal laminated material. To investigate the bolted joint performance of CARALL laminates, specimens were prepared by the hot press pot method of curing and molding process, and quasi-static tensile tests were conducted on their bolted structures. The failure processes of the joints subjected to quasi-static tensile loads were discussed, and the failure modes covered aluminum plastic deformation, carbon fiber fracture and interface delamination. The failure models were developed separately for different material compositions of each CARALL layer, and the VUMAT subroutine was used to realize the progressive damage analysis of the CFRP layer based on the 3D Hashin failure criterion. The relative error between the experimental and finite element predicted ultimate loads is 8.9%, and the proposed model can predict the location of delamination failure of the specimen more accurately, which proves that the model can effectively predict the mechanical properties of the single-nail bolted structure of the carbon fiber reinforced aluminum alloy laminate.

Key words: carbon fiber reinforced aluminum alloy laminate, bolted connection, finite element simulation, damage analysis