Influence of adhesive spew in bonded single-lap joints

Adhesively bonded lap joints involve dissimilar material junctions and sharp changes in geometry, possibly leading to premature failure. Although the finite element method is well suited to model the bonded lap joints, traditional finite elements are incapable of correctly resolving the stress state at junctions of dissimilar materials because of the unbounded nature of the stresses. In order to facilitate the use of bonded lap joints in future structures, this study presents a finite element technique utilizing a global (special) element coupled with traditional elements. The global element includes the singular behavior at the junction of dissimilar materials with or without traction-free surfaces.     

Evaluating the strengths of thick aluminum-to-aluminum joints with different adhesive lengths and thicknesses

Composite joints are often the weakest elements in composite structures. In this paper, we propose a modified version of the damage zone theory based on the yield strain ratio. We use this framework to predict failure loads for various adhesive joints. Thick aluminum-to-aluminum joint specimens with eight different adhesive lengths and four adhesive thicknesses were manufactured and tested. The strengths of different adhesive lengths could be predicted to within 15.4% using the damage zone ratio method. In addition, the strengths of joints that feature different adhesive thicknesses were predicted to within 16.3% using the damage zone ratio method.     

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.     

Prediction of crack initiation and propagation of adhesive lap joints using an energy failure criterion

In a previous paper, the present authors have pointed out limitations of some fracture mechanics parameters and shown that the vectorial J-integral can be applied to adhesive joints. Here, problems concerning the practical application of the vectorial J-integral are discussed and a more suitable failure criterion has been proposed, based on a specific strain energy criterion. The specific energy is not so sensitive to the size of the integration zone since it is ‘averaged’ over the volume of the zone. This criterion has been used to model the crack initiation and propagation in single lap joints with a brittle adhesive and a ductile adhesive. The effect of the shrinkage thermal stresses, adhesive fillet, surface preparation and type of adherends (aluminium and steel) were studied. The predicted failure loads and crack patterns are in very good agreement with the experimental results. One of the major conclusions is that the predictions can explain well the experimental scatter band that is always present in single lap joints due to the difficulty of controlling the adhesive fillet.     

Cohesive zone with continuum damage properties for simulation of delamination development in fibre composites and failure of adhesive joints

A new approach is developed to implement the cohesive zone concept for the simulation of delamination in fibre composites or crack growth in adhesive joints in tension or shear mode of fracture. The model adopts a bilinear damage evolution law, and uses critical energy release rate as the energy required for generating fully damaged unit area. Multi-axial-stress criterion is used to govern the damage initiation so that the model is able to show the hydrostatic stress effect on the damage development. The damage material model is implemented in a finite element model consisting of continuum solid elements to mimic the damage development. The validity of the model was firstly examined by simulating delamination growth in pre-cracked coupon specimens of fibre composites: the double-cantilever beam test, the end-notched flexure test and the end-loaded split test, with either stable or unstable crack growth. The model was then used to simulate damage initiation in a composite specimen for delamination without a starting defect (or a pre-crack). The results were compared with those from the same finite element model (FEM) but based on a traditional damage initiation criterion and those from the experimental studies, for the physical locations of the delamination initiation and the final crack size developed. The paper also presents a parametric study that investigates the influence of material strength on the damage initiation for delamination.     

Strength prediction of adhesive joints after cyclic moisture conditioning using a cohesive zone model

This paper presents a methodology to predict the strength of adhesive joints under variable moisture conditions. The moisture uptake in adhesive joints was determined using a history dependent moisture prediction methodology where diffusion coefficients were based on experimental cyclic moisture uptake of bulk adhesive samples. The predicted moisture concentrations and moisture diffusion history were used in a structural analysis with a cohesive zone model to predict damage and failure of the joints. A moisture concentration and moisture history dependent bilinear cohesive zone law was used. The methodology was used to determine the damage and failure in aluminium alloy – epoxy adhesive single lap joints, conditioned at 50 °C and good predictions of failure load were observed. The damage in the adhesive joints decreased the load carrying capacity before reaching the failure load and a nonlinear relationship between the load and displacement was observed. Changes in crack initiation and crack propagation were also observed between different types of joints. The presented methodology is generic and may be applied to different types of adhesive joint and adhesive.     

Characteristics of plasma surface treated composite adhesive joints at high environmental temperature

When an adhesive joint is exposed to high environmental temperature, the load transmission capability of the adhesive joint decreases because the stiffness and strength of structural adhesive decrease. The load transmission capability of adhesive joint at high environmental temperature can be improved by increasing the surface free energy of adherends with surface pretreatments.

In this paper, a capacitively coupled radio frequency plasma system was designed for the surface treatment of carbon/epoxy composites. The suitable plasma surface treatment conditions were experimentally investigated with respect to gas flow rate, vacuum pressure, power intensity, and surface treatment time through measurement of surface free energy by investigating strength of single lap composite adhesive joint. The surface free energy and adhesive joint strength were investigated with respect to the surface characteristics of the carbon/epoxy composite adherend measured with atomic force microscope. Also the failure mode of the composite adhesive joint was studied with respect to surface treatment and environmental temperature.     

Failure load prediction of laminates repaired with a scarf-bonded patch using the damage zone method

The damage zone method (DZM) is an efficient way to predict the failure of composite structures with a minimum of real testing. Particularly, it is useful when the failure mechanism is too complicated to be accurately analyzed by a merely numerical method. The aim of this study was to use the damage zone model to predict the failure load of repaired laminates, in which scarf-bonded joints were used for repair. The model uses a test-based critical damage zone and stress-based failure criteria. A total of 45 carbon-epoxy composite (USN) laminate scarf-repaired specimens were first tested with two different defect sizes, four scarf angles, and three overlap layer sizes. The Tsai-Wu and Tsai-Hill criteria were used for the laminate, and the maximum shear stress criterion for the adhesive was adopted to predict failure onset. The predicted failure loads were compared to test results and a good agreement was obtained with a 9.2% maximum deviation for almost all parameters with the exception of a case with an unrealistically large scarf angle. To verify the feasibility of the DZM for different material, additional 30 repair specimens using other unidirectional carbon-epoxy laminate were then also tested and the predictions were confirmed by the results of the experiment.     

Influence of adherend’s delamination on the response of single lap and socket tubular adhesively bonded joints subjected to torsion

Tubular adhesively bonded joints are widely used in many industries such as the oil-and-gas, aerospace and automotive. Such joints are often used to mate dissimilar materials. Composite materials, because of their superior specific strength and stiffness and high resistance to corrosion, have also been widely used to form tubular components. When composites are mated to other materials (such as metals) by adhesives, the stress concentration in the adhesive layer becomes even more exasperated due to the mismatch in the mechanical properties of the mating adherends, thus posing further challenges. Moreover, the presence of a delamination in the composite adherend can significantly influence the stress distribution within the adhesive layer; therefore, the assessment of the adhesive layer stresses in the presence of a delamination is of importance, thus forms the main objective of the present work.     

Prediction of environmental degradation of closed adhesive joints using data from open-faced specimens

A framework was established to predict the fracture toughness of degraded closed DCB (CDCB) joints of a toughened adhesive-aluminum system using fracture data obtained from accelerated degradation tests on open-faced joints. The exposure index (EI), the time integral of water concentration, was calculated at all points in the closed joints using the water diffusion properties of the adhesive. The fracture toughness of the closed joints was then predicted from these calculated EIs by making reference to previously reported fracture toughness data from open-faced DCB (ODCB) specimens degraded to various EI levels. To verify the predictions, fracture experiments and analyses were carried out for closed DCB joints degraded at 60 °C-95% relative humidity (RH) and 60 °C-82% RH conditions. The failure mode of both closed and open DCBs was cohesive in the adhesive layer. Good agreement was observed between the predicted steady-state critical strain energy release rate (G_cs) values and the experimentally measured G_cs values for the degraded closed DCB joints. The results showed that the accelerated open-faced methodology, which significantly reduces the exposure time to reach a given level of degradation, can be used to predict the durability of degraded closed joints used in service conditions. It was also shown that at a given temperature, the knowledge of the degradation behavior at one RH level could be extended to other levels of RH with an acceptable accuracy using the fact that fracture degradation at a given temperature is a unique function of EI, independent of the RH exposure history that gives rise to EI. The results are applicable to other laminated systems where degradation of the bonding layer is a failure mode of concern.     

Accurate evaluation of 3D stress fields in adhesive bonded joints via higher-order FE models

Abstract

The accurate representation of the 3D stress fields at the bonded areas of adhesive joints is essential for their design and strength evaluation. In the present study, higher-order beam models developed in the framework of the Carrera Unified Formulation are employed to reduce the complexity and computational cost of numerical simulations on adhesive joints. The different components of the adhesive joint, i.e. adherends and adhesive, are modeled as beams with independent kinematics based on the Hierarchical Legendre Expansion (HLE). HLE models make use of a hierarchical polynomial expansion over the cross-section of the beam, thus allowing for the control of the accuracy of the stress solutions via the polynomial expansion. Recalling the Finite Element method, the beam axis is discretized by means of 1D elements. In this manner, generic geometries of the adhesive bonded joints can be studied. The proposed model is assessed through comparison against numerical and analytical references from the literature for single lap and double lap joints. Finally, a detailed 3D analysis is performed on the single lap joint problem, showing that the stress gradients along the adhesive are correctly and efficiently described if the proposed methodology is employed.     

Failure load evaluation and prediction of hybrid composite double lap joints

Hybrid joints are a combination of adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening and are known to combine the advantages of both joint types. In this paper, we evaluate and compare the strengths of mechanical joints, adhesive joints and hybrid composite joints. We manufactured and tested 10 hybrid joint specimens with different width-to-diameter (w/d) ratios, edge-to-diameter (e/d) ratios and adherend thicknesses. Additionally, the strengths of the hybrid joints were predicted using the Failure Area Index (FAI) method and the damage zone method, and we compared our theoretical predictions with our experimental results. From these data, we were able to predict hybrid joint strengths to within 23.0%.     

Failure of carbon composite-to-aluminum joints with combined mechanical fastening and adhesive bonding

Composite-to-aluminum double lap joints were tested to obtain the failure loads and modes for three types of joints: adhesive bonding, bolt fastening and adhesive-bolt hybrid joining. A film type adhesive FM73 and a paste type adhesive EA9394S were used for aluminum and composite bonding. A digital microscope camcorder was used to monitor the failure of the joints. It was found that hybrid joining improves joint strength when the mechanical fastening is stronger than the bonding, as when the paste type adhesive is used. On the other hand, when the strength of the bolted joint is lower than that of the bonded joint, as when the film type adhesive is used, bolt joining contributes little to the strength of the hybrid joint.     

Crack path selection in the fracture of fresh and degraded epoxy adhesive joints

The crack paths and fracture surfaces of aluminum–epoxy adhesive joints were characterized as a function of the mode ratio of loading and the amount of degradation that had been generated using the open-faced aging technique. A finite element (FE) model was used to predict the extent of the plastic zone at different crack growth lengths and mode ratios, and a close relationship was found between the evolution of the plastic zone and the previously reported R-curve behavior of these joints. The micro-topography of the fracture surfaces, measured using an optical profilometer, showed that a ductile–brittle transition occurred in the fracture behavior of the joints as degradation progressed. The crack path in the (brittle) degraded specimens was normal to the first principal stress, but could not be predicted in the undegraded joints because of its highly three-dimensional nature. Based on the distribution of the maximum von Mises stress in the adhesive layer ahead of the crack tip, a crack growth mechanism was proposed that is consistent with these experimental observations and explains the highly three-dimensional nature of fracture in these highly constrained joints.     

Mixed-mode cohesive fracture of adhesive joints: Experimental and numerical studies

A broad experimental and analytical effort using fracture mechanics as the prime tool was conducted to investigate and improve the understanding of the mixed-mode cohesive fracture behavior of bonded joints. As a part of experimental efforts, mixed-mode fracture tests were performed using modified Arcan specimens consisting of several combinations of adhesive, composite and metallic adherends with a special loading fixture, in which by varying the loading angle, from 0° to 90°, mode-I, mixed-mode and mode-II fracture data were obtained. Finite element analyses were also carried out on specimens with different adherends. The main objective of this study was to determine the fracture toughness K_IC and K_IIC for a range of substrates under mixed-mode loading conditions. Another goal was to study the relationship between the stress intensity factors and the fracture toughness. Based on those analyses, mixed mode fracture criterion for the adhesively bonded systems under consideration determined. Fracture surfaces obtained at different mixed-mode loading conditions for various adherends were finally discussed.     

Strength prediction of tubular composite adhesive joints under torsion

This paper addresses prediction of the strength of tubular adhesive joints with composite adherends by combining thermal and mechanical analyses. A finite element analysis was used to calculate the residual thermal stresses generated by cooling down from the adhesive cure temperature, and a nonlinear analysis incorporating the nonlinear adhesive behavior was performed to accurately estimate the mechanical stresses in the adhesive. Joint failure was estimated by three failure criteria: interfacial failure, adhesive bulk failure, and adherend failure. The distributions of residual thermal stresses were investigated for various stacking angles. The effect of residual thermal stresses on joint strength was also taken into consideration. The results indicate that the residual thermal stresses, depending on the stacking angle, have a significant influence on the failure mode and strength of adhesive joints when a subsequent mechanical load is applied. Good agreement is also obtained between the predicted joint strength and the available experimental data.     

Bio-inspired design of aerospace composite joints for improved damage tolerance

This paper uses a bio-inspired design strategy based on tree branch joints to improve the damage tolerance of co-cured composite T-joints. The design of tree branch joints at different length scales from the microstructural to the macro-length scale was investigated. X-ray computed tomography of a pine tree revealed three main features of tree branch joints which provide high structural efficiency and damage tolerance: integrated design with the branch embedded into the centre of the trunk; three-dimensional fibril lay-up in the principal stress directions; and variable fibril density to achieve iso-strain conditions through the joint connection. Research presented in this paper adapts the embedded structural feature of tree joints into a carbon/epoxy T-joint. The flange plies were embedded to 25%, 50% and 75% of the depth of the skin of the composite T-joint to mimic the design of tree branch joints. Experimental testing revealed that the bio-inspired T-joint design with integrated adherends had increased normalised inelastic strain energy (defined as ductility), increased normalised absorbed strain energy to failure, and higher load-carrying capacity following damage initiation (damage tolerance) compared to a conventionally bonded T-joint. However, these improvements were achieved at the expense of earlier onset of damage initiation in the T-joints.     

Damage modelling of adhesively bonded joints

A cohesive zone model (CZM) has been used in conjunction with both elastic and elasto– plastic continuum behaviour to predict the response of a mixed mode flexure and three different lap shear joints, all manufactured with the same adhesive. It was found that, for a specific dissipated CZM energy (Γ₀) there was a range of CZM tripping tractions (σ_u) that gave a fairly constant failure load. A value of σ_u below this range gave rise to global damage throughout the bonded region before any crack propagation initiated. A value above this range gave rise to a discontinuous process zone, which resulted in failure loads that were strongly dependent on σ_u. A discontinuous process zone gives rise to mesh dependent results. The CZM parameters used in the predictions were determined from the experimental fracture mechanics specimen test data. When damage initiated, a deviation from the linear load–displacement curve was observed. The value for σ _uwas determined by identifying the magnitude that gave rise to the experimentally observed deviation. The CZM energy (Γ ₀) was then obtained by correlating the simulated load-crack length response with corresponding experimental data. The R-curve behaviour seen with increasing crack length was successfully simulated when adhesive plasticity was included in the constitutive model of the adhesive layer. This was also seen to enhance the prediction of the lap shear specimens. Excellent correlation was found between the experimental and predicted joint strengths.     

Inverse damage prediction in structures using nonlinear dynamic perturbation theory

A non-linear perturbation theory which furnishes an exact relationship between the perturbation of structural parameters and the perturbation of modal parameters is presented. A system of governing equations is derived, where the information about incomplete modal data can be directly adopted. The Direct Iteration and the Gauss–Newton Least Squares techniques for an inverse prediction of structural damage are discussed, where both the location and the extent of structural damage can be correctly determined using only a limited amount of incomplete modal measurements data. Structural damage is assumed to be associated with a proportional reduction of the original element stiffness matrix or with a proportional reduction of the contribution of a Gauss point to the element stiffness matrix, which characterises a structure at an element level or at a Gauss point level. Finally, a damaged cantilever beam is considered using different model problems to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.