Comparative Study on Static and Fatigue Performances of Pultruded GFRP Joints Using Ordinary and Blind Bolts

Bolted connections are often used in pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) structures. Blind bolts, which require installation from one side only, become convenient when access is limited to tighten the ordinary bolts, especially for tubular GFRP sections. This paper presents the results of a comparative study on pultruded GFRP double-lap joints using ordinary bolts and blind bolts. Static experiments were conducted on pultruded GFRP double-lap joints with two columns of bolts, whereas the number of rows varied by one, two, and three. The static behaviors of ordinary bolted and blind bolted joints were compared in terms of load-displacement response, failure modes, and failure load. Then, constant amplitude fatigue tests were carried out on the double-lap joints with two bolts in a row. The maximum fatigue load varied from 30 to 80% of the static failure load of the corresponding joint. The fatigue life of each specimen was recorded and S-N curve was obtained. It was found that the static failure loads of blind bolted joints were lower by a maximum of 21% than those of ordinary bolted joints, whereas the fatigue performance was not much affected by the type of the bolts.