Reinforcing Effect of Lock Stitching with Small Density on the Tensile Properties of Composite T-joints

To examine the tensile properties of T-joints reinforced by traditional lock stitching with stitch spacing not smaller than 5 mm, tensile experiments are conducted and the reinforcing effect of stitching and Z-pinning is compared. Results show that both the location of the innermost column of stitching and stitch spacing have a remarkable influence on the tensile property of stitched T-joints. The maximum average peak load achieved is 44.2% by stitching. Although the diameter of the stitch is 24% thinner than that of a thick Z-pin, the maximum load capacity of stitched T-joints is 14.2% greater than that of Z-pinned T-joints.