Shear induced toughening in bonded joints: experiments and analysis

Bonded joint specimens were fabricated from composite adherends and either an epoxy or a urethane adhesive. In mixed-mode fracture experiments, the epoxy bonded specimens generally failed by subinterfacial fracture in the composite, while specimens bonded with urethane failed very close to the adhesive/substrate interface. For the epoxy bonded specimens, fracture toughness did not change significantly with mode-mix, but for urethane bonded joints, fracture toughness increased with increasing shear load. Finite element analysis, which modeled specimens bonded with the two adhesives, showed similar trends. The different toughening behaviors for the two bonded joints can be attributed to dissipation of energy through inelastic deformation, which was insignificant in the epoxy-bonded joints but substantial when the urethane was used as the bonding agent.     

Elastic analysis of hybrid bonded joints and bonded composite repairs

The authors extend the closed-form bonded joint linear elastic analysis method of Delale et al. [Delale F, Erdogan F, Aydinoglu MN. Stresses in adhesively bonded joints: a closed-form solution. J Compos Mater 1981;15:249–71] and Bigwood and Crocrombie [Bigwood DA, Crocombe AD. Elastic analysis and engineering design formulae for bonded joints. Int J Adhes Adhes 1989;9(4):229–42] to include the composite deformation mechanisms and the thermal residual strains that arise in hybrid metal-composite joints such as those presented by bonded composite repairs applied to metallic aircraft structures. The analytical predictions for the adhesive stresses and the compliance are compared to the results of a linear elastic finite element model that has itself been validated by comparison with experimental results. The results are applied to the problem of coupled linear extension and bending of a bonded composite repair applied to a cracked aluminum substrate. The resulting stress intensity factor and crack-opening displacement in the repaired plate are compared to the results of a three-dimensional finite element analysis, and also exhibit excellent results. Throughout the text, observations are made regarding the practical application of the results to failure prediction in hybrid joints, whereby the authors demonstrate the need for consistency in the analytical methods used to determine the fatigue and failure of composites from the coupon level to the analysis of the final structural details.     

Modelling of adhesively bonded joints by an asymptotic method

To utilize the potential of adhesive bonding, there is an increasing need for effective and accurate computational methods. The geometry and behaviour of an adhesive joint is, however, not so simple to model effectively by regular finite elements. The main reason is that the very thin adhesive layer with a low Young’s modulus must be modelled by a large number of finite elements in the thickness direction to achieve sufficiently accurate calculations. To overcome this difficulty, a material surface treatment of the adhesive and the joined parts can be attempted. This paper concerns the derivation of such a model by introducing scalings on the geometry and on the material properties in terms of a perturbation parameter. Within the framework of three-dimensional elasticity, together with an asymptotic expansion method, a family of limit models are obtained through a systematic procedure. In such a derivation no a priori assumptions on the displacements or stress fields are needed. The final result is a variational equation posed over a single reference surface. In regions near the boundary of the joint a boundary layer phenomena occurs. This indicates that the asymptotic series needs to be complemented by additional terms, in order to satisfy all boundary conditions. A structural model including shear- and peel deformation is finally proposed which improves the solution close to the boundary.     

The applicability of plate wave techniques for the inspection of adhesive and diffusion bonded joints

The role of plate waves in the inspection of adhesive and diffusion bonded joints is examined. This involves a review of the modal techniques which have been proposed for the measurement of the adhesion and cohesion properties of adhesive joints and the presentation of some of our own studies on the detection and characterization of an unwanted layer of brittle alpha case in diffusion bonded titanium. It is concluded that Lamb waves, which occupy the whole joint, are viable in principle but are limited in both applications by their strong sensitivity to the material properties and the thicknesses of the adherends and their relative insensitivity to those of the bondline layer. On the other hand, embedded modes, which propagate along an embedded layer, are largely insensitive to the adherends, the dispersion curves showing a major improvement in sensitivity to the properties of the layer and to the boundary conditions between the layer and the adherends. The drawback is that their exploitation is limited in practice because it is difficult to excite and detect them. True modes offer good potential but require access to the ends of the joints. In attempting to excite leaky modes, minima of the reflection coefficient, commonly used to measure Lamb wave dispersion curves in immersion coupled plates, do not correspond to the dispersion curves because the acoustic impedance of the adherends is too large. Therefore, although measurement of the minima offers good potential for inspection, this is a response technique and cannot be associated directly with the plate modes. In neither of the examples studied could an interface wave exist at a single interface between the bondline layer and an adherend. However, in general such modes could be rather attractive for inspection, provided that their wavelengths are much smaller than the layer thickness, because they are sensitive to the interface region but not to the thicknesses of the layers, and they are relatively simple to measure.     

Analytical investigation of thermal and mechanical load effects on stress distribution in adhesive layer of double-lap metal-composite bonded joints

Significant thermal stresses are induced in the adhesive layers of a metal-composite bonded joint owing to the large temperature change associated with the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansions of metals and composite adherends. In this study, a theoretical analysis of shear and peel stresses in adhesive layers of a double-lap metal-composite bonded joint is carried out to evaluate the effects of thermal and mechanical loads on the stress distribution in the adhesive layer. The effects of temperature change and adhesive thickness on the shear and peel stresses in the adhesive layer of the bonded joint, with and without external forces, are examined based on the theoretical analysis. The results calculated for the condition involving a mechanical load application to the bonded joint and a decrease in temperature indicate that the absolute value of the shear and peel stresses peak at both ends of the adhesive layer, and that the absolute value of the peak stresses increases in the case of a thinner adhesive layer. When mechanical and thermal loads are simultaneously applied to a double-lap joint, shear and peel stresses synergistically increase at one end of the adhesive layer and decrease with an offset at the other end.     

A review on the environmental degradation effects on fatigue behaviour of adhesively bonded joints

The structural applications of adhesively bonded joints on transportation industries have been increasing, and it is expected that this rising trend persists in the future. The appropriate design of these joints should address two main issues: fatigue behaviour and environmental effects. Environmental effects consist of the degradation of the bonded joints by means of harmful influence of temperature, moisture or both simultaneously. These effects can have an impact on the fatigue behaviour of bonded joints because they influence the quality of the bonding. The combination of environmental effects and fatigue lead to synergetic consequences resulting in premature and unpredictable rupture, which transforms these issues into relevant and actual research topics. The present paper describes the most recent works addressing the referred subjects. Experimental works and analytical/numerical approaches are also described aiming to give a picture of the real state‐of‐the‐art. Actual limitations and perspectives of future evolution are also discussed.     

Analysis of adhesively bonded joints: a finite element method and a material model with damage

This paper deals with the derivation of a finite element (FE) method for an adhesively bonded joint which consists of two relatively thin bodies, joined by an even thinner adhesive layer. It is based on a model of the compound joint where the three bodies involved are described as material surfaces. A geometrically two‐dimensional model, where the middle surfaces of the upper and lower body are represented as geometrically coinciding surfaces, is obtained. An elastic–plastic material model with damage is used for the adhesive layer, and an important implication is that the (quasi‐static) propagation of the local failure zone in the adhesive layer in a structure can be simulated. Consequently, the failure load is obtained as a computational result and no failure criterion is needed. The problem is discretized, and a surface model, where only a single surface needs to be FE‐meshed, is obtained. A single‐lap joint is analysed and good agreement is obtained when compared to an analysis using a fine mesh with brick element. Furthermore, the failure load is computed and compared with experiments. The derived FE method opens up the possibility to efficiently model and analyse the mechanical behaviour of large bonded structures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Inelastic fracture of adhesively bonded overlap joints

Adhesive bonding offers a simple and efficient way of joining structural components without weakening them by holes or welding.This article develops a new model to predict the fracture load of bonded overlap joints using a fracture mechanics approach. The bondline fracture resistance and effects of the nonlinear inelastic behaviour of structural adhesives are accounted for separately. For bonded single overlap joint configurations the model is expressed as simple explicit formulas.An experimental programme is presented where the design parameters that a designer can adjust to obtain the desired joint capacity are systematically varied. Comparison of test results with the predictions by current strength-of-materials capacity models highlights disparities between the theoretical predictions and experimental evidence. In contrast, the new model shows good agreement with the experimental results.It should be noted that the simple new formulas apply to a well-defined range of bonded overlap joint configurations and do not purport to apply in general to every other joint configuration.     

Delamination failure of multilaminated adhesively bonded joints at low temperatures

A series of experimental investigations of multilaminated joints adhesively bonded by epoxy/polyurethane (PU) glue were conducted in order to examine the delamination failure characteristics under in-plane shear loading at low temperatures. In order to observe these phenomena, a series of lap-shear tests were carried out at various low temperatures (20 °C, −110 °C and −163 °C) and various adhesion areas (15 mm × 50 mm, 30 mm × 50 mm, 50 mm × 50 mm, 75 mm × 50 mm and 100 mm × 50 mm). The test results were used to investigate the delamination and material characteristics, as well as the material properties, e.g., ultimate shear stress and shear elongation. Furthermore, the dependencies of the characteristics of multilaminated adhesively bonded joints (MABJs) on temperature and adhesion area was analyzed using the stress–strain relationship, and closed form formulas that are functions of the dependent parameters are proposed.     

Failure prediction and strength improvement of uni-directional composite single lap bonded joints

A methodology is presented for the failure prediction of the composite single lap bonded joints considering both the composite adherend and the bondline failures. An elastic-perfectly plastic model of the adhesive and a delamination failure criterion were used in the methodology. The failure predictions using the finite element analysis and the proposed methodology were performed. The failure prediction results such as failure mode and strength showed very good agreements with the test results for the joint specimens with various bonding methods and parameters. Based on the numerical investigation, the optimal joint strength condition was found and a new joint strength improvement technique was suggested. The suggested technique was verified to have a significant effect on the joint strength improvement.     

Mixed mode failure analysis of bonded joints with rate‐dependent interface models

The recent developments in joining technologies and the increasing use of composites materials in structural design justify the wide interest of structural mechanics researchers in bonded joints. Joints often represent the weakness zone of the structure and appropriate and rigorous mechanical models are required in order to describe deformation, durability and failure. The present work is devoted to the theoretical formulation and numerical implementation of an interface model suitable to simulate the time‐dependent behaviour of bonded joints. The interface laws are formulated in the framework of viscoplasticity for generalized standard materials and describe the softening response of the joint along its decohesion process in presence of shear and tensile normal tractions. These laws are derived in a thermodynamic consistent manner and take into account the rate dependency modifications of the fracture process zone making use of a sort of non‐local instantaneous dissipation. The interface constitutive laws are expressed both in rate and discrete incremental form for the purpose of numerical implementation. The consistent tangent matrix is derived. Finally, the problem of model parameters identification is approached making use of the finite element method for the experiments simulation and of an evolution strategy to solve the constrained optimization problem which mathematically represents the parameter identification inverse problem. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fatigue of spot-welded lap joints

The fatigue properties of spot-welded lap joints under a constant mean load made from 1.2 and 3 mm sheet thickness stainless steel with one, two or three-spot welds in series are reported. A log plot of cyclic load range versus fatigue life shows that for given sheet thickness and fixed load range, fatigue life increases with the number of spot welds. Oil has a beneficial effect by increasing the fatigue life of the welded joints. A fracture mechanics analysis is carried out on the data by treating the spot weld as a crack. A log plot of initial stress intensity factor range versus fatigue life is a straight line which is independent of the number of spot welds. However, increasing the sheet thickness shifts the straight line upwards in the log plot, thus indicating a longer fatigue life for the same applied initial stress intensity factor range.     

Effects of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on shear performance of laminated nanocomposite bonded joints

Abstract

The main objective is to improve the most commonly addressed weakness of the laminated composites (i.e. delamination due to poor interlaminar strength) using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as reinforcement between the laminae and in the transverse direction. In this work, a chemical vapor deposition technique has been used to grow dense vertically aligned arrays of CNTs over the surface of chemically treated two-dimensionally woven cloth and fiber tows. The nanoforest-like fabrics can be used to fabricate three-dimensionally reinforced laminated nanocomposites. The presence of CNTs aligned normal to the layers and in-between the layers of laminated composites is expected to considerably enhance the properties of the laminates. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, composite single lap-joint specimens were fabricated for interlaminar shear strength testing. It was observed that the single lap-joints with through-the-thickness CNT reinforcement can carry considerably higher shear stresses and strains. Close examination of the test specimens showed that the failure of samples with CNT nanoforests was completely cohesive, while the samples without CNT reinforcement failed adhesively. This concludes that the adhesion of adjacent carbon fabric layers can be considerably improved owing to the presence of vertically aligned arrays of CNT nanoforests.     

Influence of the interface ply orientation on the fatigue behaviour of bonded joints in composite materials

The paper deals with the study of the fatigue behaviour of bonded joints in composite materials. The influence of the orientation of the composite layer at the adhesive–adherend interface is investigated on single lap joints prepared by carbon fabric/epoxy laminates bonded together with a two-part epoxy adhesive. Different laminate lay-ups ([45/0₂]_s and [45₂/0]_s), overlap lengths (20 and 40 mm) and corner geometry of bonded area (square edge and fillet, respectively) were investigated under tension–tension fatigue. Particular attention was devoted to the analysis of the fatigue damage evolution to identify initiation and subsequent growth of cracks. A previous model developed by the authors, for the prediction of the fatigue life of bonded joints as the sum of an initiation and propagation phase, was successfully applied to summarise the new data.     

Numerical evaluation for debonding failure phenomenon of adhesively bonded joints at cryogenic temperatures

In the present study, material characteristics, such as inelastic constitutive behaviour and debonding failure, of an adhesively bonded joint (ABJ) at cryogenic temperature have been evaluated using a computational approach. The modified Bodner-Partom model (BP model) has been introduced to describe the material nonlinearities of ABJ. The Gurson-Tvergaard model (GT model) has also been implemented into the constitutive model in order to analyse the phenomenon of debonding failure. An ABAQUS user-defined subroutine UMAT is developed using a damage-coupled constitutive model based on an implicit formulation. The numerical results are compared with a series of lap shear tests of ABJ at cryogenic temperature in order to verify the proposed method.     

316L不锈钢扩散连接接头界面疲劳裂纹扩展行为

采用单边缺口试样对316L不锈钢扩散连接接头进行显微疲劳试验,实现微观尺度下界面裂纹扩展和微孔隙演化的原位观测.试验观察表明:动载荷下界面裂纹扩展时,裂纹尖端晶粒内产生局部的塑性变形,但几乎观测不到界面微孔隙的扩展,也未见微孔隙与微孔隙的相连;微孔隙对界面裂纹萌生和扩展的影响不大;扩散连接过程中所形成的谷脊状界面可以改变裂纹的扩展路径.     

Fracture mechanics and damage mechanics based fatigue lifetime prediction of adhesively bonded joints subjected to variable amplitude fatigue

The first part of the paper describes an investigation into the behaviour of adhesively bonded single lap joints (SLJs) subjected to various types of variable amplitude fatigue (VAF) loading. It was seen that a small proportion of fatigue cycles at higher fatigue loads could result in a significant reduction in the fatigue life. Palmgren-Miner’s damage sum tended to be less than 1, indicating damage accelerative load interaction effects. In the second part of the paper, fracture mechanics (FM) and damage mechanics (DM) approaches are used to predict the fatigue lifetime for these joints. Two FM based approaches were investigated, which differed with respect to the cycle counting procedure, however, both approaches were found to under-predict the fatigue lifetime for all the types of spectra used. This was attributed to the inability of the FM based models to simulate the crack initiation phase. A DM based approach was then used with a power law relationship between equivalent plastic strain and the damage rate. Good predictions were found for most of the spectra, with a tendency to over-predict the fatigue life.     

A general Boundary Element Analysis of 2-D Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics

This paper presents a boundary element method (BEM) analysis of linear elastic fracture mechanics in two-dimensional solids. The most outstanding feature of this new analysis is that it is a single-domain method, and yet it is very accurate, efficient and versatile: Material properties in the medium can be anisotropic as well as isotropic. Problem domain can be finite, infinite or semi-infinite. Cracks can be of multiple, branched, internal or edged type with a straight or curved shape. Loading can be of in-plane or anti-plane, and can be applied along the no-crack boundary or crack surface. Furthermore, the body-force case can also be analyzed. The present BEM analysis is an extension of the work by Pan and Amadei (1996a) and is such that the displacement and traction integral equations are collocated, respectively, on the no-crack boundary and on one side of the crack surface. Since in this formulation the displacement and/or traction are used as unknowns on the no-crack boundary and the relative crack displacement (i.e. displacement discontinuity) as unknown on the crack surface, it possesses the advantages of both the traditional displacement BEM and the displacement discontinuity method (DDM) and yet gets rid of the disadvantages associated with these methods when modeling fracture mechanics problems. Numerical examples of calculation of stress intensity factors (SIFs) for various benchmark problems were conducted and excellent agreement with previously published results was obtained. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

From a local stress approach to fracture mechanics: a comprehensive evaluation of the fatigue strength of welded joints

This paper investigates the possibility of unifying different criteria concerned with the fatigue strength of welded joints. In particular, it compares estimates based on local stress fields due to geometry (evaluated without any crack-like defect) and residual life predictions in the presence of a crack, according to LEFM. Fatigue strength results already reported in the literature for transverse non-load-carrying fillet welds are used as an experimental database. Nominal stress ranges were largely scattered, due to large variations of joint geometrical parameters. The scatter band greatly reduces as soon as a 0.3-mm virtual crack is introduced at the weld toe, and the behaviour of the joints is given in terms of Δ K _I versus total life fatigue. Such calculations, not different from residual life predictions, are easily performed by using the local stress distributions determined near the weld toes in the absence of crack-like defects. More precisely, the analytical expressions for K _I are based on a simple combination of the notch stress intensity factors K ₁^N and K ₂^N for opening and sliding modes. Then, fatigue strength predictions, as accurate as those based on fracture mechanics, are performed by the local stress analysis in a simpler way.     

Analysis of adhesive bonded composite lap joints with transverse stitching

The effect of transverse stitching on the stresses in the adhesive is investigated using an adhesive sandwich model with nonlinear adhesive properties and a transverse stitching model for adhesive bonded composite single-lap and double-lap joints. Numerical results indicate that, among all stitching parameters, thread pretension and stitch density have significant effect on the peel stresses in the adhesive; increase in the thread pretension and the stitch density leads to a decrease in peel stress in the adhesive, while an increase in other parameters generally results in a negligible reduction in peel stress. The effect of stitching was found to be negligible on the shear stresses in the adhesive. Thus it is concluded that stitching is effective for the joints where peel stresses are critical and ineffective for those where shear stresses are critical.