Fiber-reinforced polymer composite members with adhesive bonded sleeve joints for space frame structures

Glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites with innovative sleeve joints are examined for space frame assembly. The sleeve joint connects one end of a steel tubular connector with a circular solid or hollow GFRP composites by adhesive bonding, the other end being flattened to enable easy connection with other members using mechanical bolts. Experiments were conducted to investigate the mechanical performance in tension and compression. In the tensile specimens, pull-out failure occurred between GFRP and adhesive when the bond length was relatively short, and tensile fracture of the steel tubular connector occurred when the bond length was sufficiently long. In the compact compressive specimens, yielding of the flattened steel tube occurred because of the bending moment at the fully fixed support. Global buckling failure was observed for slender compressive members. Load-bearing capacity was analytically estimated for different loading scenarios and compared well with experimental results.