An experimental campaign has been carried out to investigate the behavior of co-bonded CFRP joints with a novel design incorporating a through the thickness local reinforcement. Different specimens were manufactured to investigate static and fatigue behavior, as well as delamination size after impact and damage tolerance characteristics. Mechanical performance of specimens with a reinforcement based on the insertion of spiked thin metal sheets between the co-bonded laminates were compared with purely co-bonded joints. This novel design demonstrated by tests a more predictable failure with respect to the standard design based solely on adhesive structural bonding. The tests allowed obtaining a significant number of experimental results that can be used to define preliminary design guidelines
