The stress and torque transmission capability of adhesively bonded circular, hexagonal and elliptical lap joints were analyzed by the finite element method and compared with the experimental results. The adherends of the joints were composed of carbon fiber/epoxy composite shafts and steel shafts.
In calculating the torque capability, linear laminate properties of the composite and nonlinear shear properties of the adhesive were used. Using this mothod, the torque transmission capability of the adhesively bonded lap joint could be calculated within 10% error of the experimental results except the circular single lap joint. The experiments revealed that the hexagonal joint had the best torque capability from the single lap joints and the double lap joint had better torque capability than the single lap joint.
