Stress analyses of composite tee joints at elevated temperature

Thermal–structural coupling nonlinear finite element analyses are conducted in this paper to determine three-dimensional stresses of a composite tee joint, which is formed when a right angled plate is adhesively bonded to a base plate at elevated temperature. The von-Mises stresses of the adhesive layer of the tee joint with three different laminate stacking sequences viz. unidirectional [0]8, cross-ply [(0/90)s]2, and angle-ply [(+45/−45)s]2 laminates have been evaluated when the tee joint is subjected to an out-of-plane loading through the right angled plate in addition to an elevated temperature applied at the undersurface of the base plate. The effects of laminate stacking sequence and temperature on von-Mises stresses have been investigated in this paper. The effects of the coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal conduction of the adhesive layer on von-Mises stresses have also been studied. Conclusions about the stresses of the composite tee joint with different stacking sequence, different coefficient of thermal expansion, and different thermal conduction of the adhesive layer are drawn.