ABSTRACT
Lightweight thin-walled structures are typically used in aircraft industry in order to reduce their mass and to increase the allowable limit load. Assembling and disassembling of any large structures such as airliners are crucial stages of manufacturing, service and repair processes. Therefore, temporary mechanical joints are permanently applied. In the mechanical joints stress concentration occurs due to the notch effect and point load (fastener action) transfer. In aircraft structures, skeleton supports the primary loads and transfers point loads into the skin. Connections of structural components are likewise the areas of point load transfer. Nowadays, large aircrafts are built in fifty percent of composites In general, composites are brittle material and more notch sensitive than metal alloys. The aim of the paper is to investigate possible benefits of local laminate modification in the hole vicinity of mechanical joints in thin-walled composite panels.
