Fatigue behaviour of single skin FRP tee joints

This paper deals with out-of-plane bonded and laminated connections in stru ctures made from fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) composite materials. Result s from a comprehensive series of tests, covering joints with varying materi al and geometry configurations, are detailed. These include stiffness degra dation, residual strength and energy dissipation characteristics. The physi cal observations are then bound together with different empirical modelling approaches using linear, non-linear and trigonometric functions. Finally, a design approach, which encompasses fatigue considerations, is elaborated. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.