Determination of the stress distribution in foam-cored sandwich construction composite tee joints

The stresses in sandwich construction tee joints are determined using both experimental and numerical techniques. The features of interest in the tee joint are the use of a boundary angle laminate which reinforces the connection between the two component parts of the tee joint, the use of a fillet at the connection and the effect of any gap at the join. The experimental approach is thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) based on the use of the SPATE (stress pattern analysis by thermal emissions) equipment. Techniques for calibrating the constituent parts of the joint are described so that quantitative stress values can be obtained from the TSA. A detailed finite element study of the tee joints is also carried out, the results of which are compared with the experimental data.