A numerical study of adhesively bonded lap joints

The two types of joint discussed in this paper are a thick adherend symmetrical lap joint, and a symmetrical double lap joint. The effect of varying adherend and adhesive thicknesses on the stress distribution in the thin adhesive layer is discussed. These analyses were used in the design on a lap shear test to characterize certain aerospace adhesives used in bonded repair of structural components. An alternative analytical approach for the estimation of the load-carrying capacity of the double lap joint is also presented.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of the effect of key joint variables on the static and fatigue performance of bonded metallic single-lap joints

In this paper, numerical and experimental methods are employed to investigate the effect of surface preparation, adhesive type and thickness, and nanoparticle enrichment on the mechanical performance of bonded metallic single-lap joints. Adherents are made of similar materials; namely, steel-on-steel or aluminum-on-aluminum. Investigated surface preparation variables include roughness and scratch orientation. Adhesive-related variables include thickness, type, and nanoparticle enrichment. Four different commercially available adhesives are investigated, some of which are nanoparticle enriched for the purpose of this study. Static and/or fatigue testing as well as damage analysis-based numerical prediction of joint performance, are provided. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used for macro joint characterization through the micro observation of joint fracture surfaces. Experimental fatigue data correlates reasonably well with the numerical results obtained from damage-coupled cohesive model of the adhesive layer.     

Mode I fracture toughness of adhesively bonded joints as a function of temperature: Experimental and numerical study

Adhesives used in structural high temperature aerospace applications must operate in extreme environments. They need to exhibit high-temperature capabilities in order to maintain their mechanical properties and their structural integrity at the intended service temperature. One of the main problems caused by high temperature conditions is the fact that the adhesives have different mechanical properties with temperature. As is known, adhesive strength generally shows temperature dependence. Similarly, the fracture toughness is expected to show temperature dependence.In this work, the Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test is analysed in order to evaluate the effect of the temperature on the adhesive mode I fracture toughness of a high temperature epoxy adhesive. Cohesive zone models, in which the failure behaviour is expressed by a bilinear traction–separation law, have been used to define the adhesive behaviour and to predict the adhesive P–δ curves as a function of temperature. The simulation response for various temperatures matched the experimental results very well. The sensitivity of the various cohesive zone parameters in predicting the overall mechanical response as a function of temperature was examined as well for a deeper understanding of this predictive method. Also, issues of mesh sensitivity were explored to ensure that the results obtained were mesh independent.     

单搭接胶接接头的拓扑优化

在有限元方法的基础上，利用变密度法对单搭接胶接接头搭接区域的被粘物形状进行了拓扑优化，通过曲线拟舍得到了较为合理的轮廓。拓扑优化的结果表明：在体积减少20％的情况下。胶接结构的强度不会降低；经拓扑优化后，胶层中剪切应力的峰值比优化以前增加不大，约1％。     

Analysis and design of adhesively bonded corner joints

In this study, the stress and stiffness analyses of corner joints with a single corner support, consisting of two plates, one of which plain and the other bent at right angles, have been carried out using the finite element method. It was assume that the plates and adhesive had linear elastic properties. Corner joints without a fillet at the free ends of the adhesive layer were considered. The joint support was analysed under three loading conditions, two linear and one bending moment. In the stress analysis, it was found that for loading in the y-direction and by bending moment, the maximum stresses occurred around the lower end of the vertical adhesive layer/ vertical plate interface; for loading in the x-direction, the maximum stresses occurred around the right free end of the horizontal adhesive layer/vertical plate interface. The effects of upper support length, support taper length and adhesive thickness on the maximum stresses have been investigated. Since the peel stresses are critical for this type of joint, a second corner joint with double corner support (i.e., one in which the horizontal plate is reinforced by a support that is an extension of the vertical plate) was investigated which showed considerable decreases in the stresses, particularly peel stresses. A third type of corner joint with single corner support plus an angled reinforcement member was investigated as an alternative to the previous two configurations. It was found that increasing the length and particularly the thickness of the angled reinforcement reduced the high peel stresses around the lower free end of the adhesive/vertical plate interface, but resulted in higher compressive stresses. In the stiffness analysis, the effects of the geometry of the joints, relative stiffness of adhesive/adherends and adhesive thickness were investigated under three loading conditions. For three types of corner joint, results were compared and recommended designs were determined based on the overall static stiffness of the joints and on the stress analysis.     

Experimental investigation of the shear dynamic behavior of double-lap adhesively bonded joints on a wide range of strain rates

The main concern of this work is the mechanical characterization of adhesively bonded assemblies under dynamic shear loading ranging from quasi-static (10⁻⁴ s⁻¹) up to high (10⁴ s⁻¹) strain rates. The double-lap shear sample is proposed and a bonding procedure is established. The assemblies are made of steel substrates bonded with an epoxy adhesive. Two surface treatments of the substrates are considered: ethanol and sand shooting. The shear strength and the failure strain are measured by taking into account the testing setups accuracy and the non-uniform distribution of the stress and strain fields in the overlap region. The sensitivity of the strength and the failure strain to the strain rate is highlighted; it is found that the failure strain decreases and the shear strength increases with the strain rate until reaching a maximum value then it drops for very high strain rates.     

An investigation of fatigue failure prediction of adhesively bonded metal/metal joints

A fracture mechanics-based model for fatigue failure prediction of adhesive joints has been applied in this work. The model is based on the integration of the kinetic law of evolution of defects originated at stress concentrations within the joint. Final failure can be either brittle (fracture toughness-driven) or ductile (tensile/shear strength-driven) depending on the adhesive. The model has been validated against experiments conducted on single-lap shear joints bonded with a structural adhesive. Three different kinds of adhesives, namely a modified methacrylate, a one-part epoxy and a two-part epoxy supplied by Henkel, have been considered and three different overlap lengths have been tested. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth properties of the adhesives have been determined with mode I tests. The number of cycles to failure has been successfully predicted in several cases. It is interesting to notice that in the case of joints loaded at the same average shear stress, the shorter the joint, the longer the duration. This fact is also captured by the model.     

An investigation on the initiation and propagation of damaged zones in adhesively bonded lap joints

In this study, the initiation and propagation of damaged zones in the adhesive layer and adherends of adhesively bonded single and double lap joints were investigated considering the geometrical non-linearity and the non-linear material behaviour of the adhesive and adherends. The modified von Mises criteria for adherends and Raghava and Cadell's failure criteria (J. Mater. Sci. 8, 225 (1973) [1]) including the effects of the hydrostatic stress states for the epoxy adhesive were used to determine the damaged adhesive and adherend zones which exceeded the specified ultimate strains. The stiffness of all finite elements corresponding to these zones was reduced so that they could not contribute to the overall stiffness of the adhesive joint. This approach simplifies to observe the initiation and propagation of the damaged zones in both the adhesive layer and adherends. A tensile load caused first the damaged adhesive zones to appear at the right free end of the adhesive-lower adherend interface and at the left free end of the adhesive-upper adherend interface, and then to propagate through the adhesive regions near the adhesive-adherend interfaces (interfacial failure). In the bending test, the damaged zone initiated at the left free end of the adhesive-upper adherend interface in tension, and similarly propagated through the adhesive regions close to the adhesive-adherend interface (interfacial failure). In the double-lap joint subjected to a tensile load, the damaged adhesive zones initiated first at the right free end of the adhesive-middle adherend interface and then propagated through the adhesive region near the adhesive-adherend interface. After the damaged zone reached a specific length it also grew through the adhesive thickness, and the adhesive joint failed. The SEM micrographs of fracture surfaces around the free edges of the overlap region indicated that the failure was interfacial. An additional damaged zone growth was observed in the side adhesive regions due to lateral straining, called the Poisson effect.     

Effects of unbalance on the adhesively bonded composites-aluminium joints

This article presents the experimental and numerical results of adhesively bonded hybrid single-lap joint (SLJ) geometry with different configurations of lower and upper adherends subject to a four-point bending test. AA2024-T3 aluminium alloy and carbon/epoxy composites with different lamina numbers and four different stacking angles as adherend and two-part liquid, structural adhesive DP 125 as paste adhesive were used. In the experimental studies, three different types of SLJs were produced using lower material that had a constant thickness of AA2024-T3 aluminium alloy and upper material of composite material that had different numbers of layers and four different stacking sequences ([0], [0/90], [45/?45], [0/45/?45/90]). In the numerical analysis, stress analyses of the SLJs were performed with a three-dimensional non-linear finite element method and the composite adherends were assumed to behave as linearly elastic materials, while the adhesive and aluminium adherend were assumed to be non-linear. Consequently, the change of stacking sequence and thickness of the composite in adhesively bonded SLJs altered the location of the neutral axis in the joint. This situation substantially influences the load-carrying capacity of the joint.     

Characterization of fracture in adhesively bonded double-lap joints

A broad finite element study was carried out to understand the stress fields and stress intensity factors behavior of cracks in adhesively bonded double-lap joints, which are representative of loading in real aerospace structures. The interaction integral method and fundamental relationships in fracture mechanics were used to determine the mixed-mode stress intensity factors and associated strain energy release rates for various cases of interest. The numerical analyses of bonded joints were also studied for various kinds of adhesives and adherends materials, joint configurations, and thickness of adhesive and different crack lengths. The finite element results obtained show that the patch materials of low stiffness, low adhesive moduli and low tapering angles are desirable for a strong double-lap joint. In the double-lap joint, the shearing-mode stress intensity factor is always larger than that of the opening-mode and both shearing and opening mode stress intensity factors increase as the crack length increases, but their amplitudes are not sensitive to adhesive thickness. Results are discussed in terms of their relationship to adhesively bonded joints design and can be used in the development of approaches aimed at using adhesive bonding and extending the lives of adhesively bonded repairs for aerospace structures.     

Geometrically non-linear analysis of adhesively bonded corner joints

When adhesively bonded joints are subjected to large displacements, the small strain-small displacement (linear elasticity) theory may not predict the adhesive or adherend stresses and deformations accurately. In this study, a geometricaly non-linear analysis of three adhesively bonded corner joints was carried out using the incremental finite element method based on the small strain-large displacement (SSLD) theory. The first one, a corner joint with a single support, consisted of a vertical plate and a horizontal plate whose left end was bent at right angles and bonded to the vertical plate. The second corner joint, with a double support, had two plates whose ends were bent at right angles and bonded to each other. The final corner joint, with a single support plus angled reinforcement, was a modification of the first corner joint. The analysis method assumes that the joint members, such as the support, plates, and adhesive layers, have linear elastic properties. Since the adhesive accumulations (spew fillets) around the adhesive free ends have a considerable effect on the peak adhesive stresses, they were taken into account. The joints were analyzed for two different loading conditions: one loading normal to the horizontal plate plane P_y and the other horizontal loading at the horizontal plate free edge P_x. In addition, three corner joints were analyzed using the finite clement method based on the small strain-small displacement (SSSD) theory. In predicting the effect of the large displacements on the stress and deformation states of the joint members, the capabilities of both analyses were compared. Both analyses showed that the adhesive free ends and the outer fibres of the horizontal and vertical plates were subjected to stress concentrations. The peak stresses appeared at the slot corners inside the adhesive fillets and at the horizontal and vertical plate outer fibres corresponding to the locations where the horizontal and vertical adhesive fillets finished. The SSLD analysis predicted that the displacement components and the peak adhesive and plate stress components would show a non-linear variation for the loading condition P_x, whereas the SSSD analysis showed smaller stress variations proportional to the applied load. However, both the SSLD and the SSSD analyses predicted similar displacement and stress variations for the loading condition P_y. Therefore, the stress and deformation states of the joint members are dependent on the loading conditions, and in the case of large displacements, the SSSD analysis can be misleading in predicting the stresses and deformations. The SSLD analysis also showed that the vertical and horizontal support lengths and the angled reinforcement length played an important role in reducing the peak adhesive and plate stresses.     

Residual static strength and the fracture initiation path in adhesively bonded joints weakened with interfacial edge pre-crack

This paper deals with the application of fracture mechanics approaches for predicting the residual static strength and the crack kinking angle of adhesively bonded joints containing interfacial edge pre-cracks. The interfacial cracks are created due to different factors such as inappropriate surface preparation which cause a significant reduction of the joint strength. To investigate the residual strength of interfacial cracked adhesive joints and predict the crack kinking angle, three different approaches including the maximum tangential stress (MTS), the minimum strain energy density (SED) and the maximum tangential strain energy density (MTSED) were assessed. To this end, single lap joints (SLJs) containing a brittle adhesive material and with different pre-crack sizes and various substrate thicknesses were manufactured and tested. The results were also verified by applying fracture mechanics approaches on previously published experimental data. According to the results, it was concluded that in mode II dominant cases, the predictions of kinking angle using the MTS method was in good agreement with the experimental observations, while in mode I dominant cases the mentioned approach provided poor predictions. It was also found that the SED criterion could be a precise model for predicting the crack extension angle in mode I dominant conditions. The results also showed that the MTS criterion predicts the residual static strength of interfacial cracked adhesive joints very well.     

Strength prediction of adhesively bonded carbon/epoxy joints

A finite element approach has been used to obtain the stress distribution in some adhesive joints. In the past, a strength prediction method has not been established. Therefore in this study, a strength prediction method for adhesive joints has been examined. First, the critical stress distribution of single-lap adhesive joints, with six different adherend thicknesses, was examined to obtain the failure criteria. It was thought that the point stress criterion, which has been previously used for an FRP tensile specimen with a hole, was effective. The proposed method using the point stress criterion was applied to adhesive joints, such as single-lap joints with short non-lap lengths and bending specimens of single-lap joints. Good agreement was obtained between the predicted and experimental joint strengths.     

Fatigue life prediction of adhesively bonded single lap joints

Better fatigue performance of adhesively bonded joints makes them suitable for most structural applications. However, predicting the service life of bonded joints accurately remains a challenge. In this present study, nonlinear computational simulations have been performed on adhesively bonded single lap ASTM-D1002 shear joint considering both geometrical and material nonlinearities to predict the fatigue life by judiciously applying the modified Coffin-Manson equation for adhesive joints. Elasto-plastic material models have been employed for both the adhesive and the adherends. The predicted life has close agreement in the high cycle fatigue (HCF) regime with empirical observations reported in the literature.     

Low-speed bending impact behavior of adhesively bonded single-lap joints

This study addresses the low-speed impact behavior of adhesively bonded single-lap joints. An explicit dynamic finite element analysis was conducted in order to determine the damage initiation and propagation in the adhesive layers of adhesive single-lap joints under a bending impact load. A cohesive zone model was implemented to predict probable failure initiation and propagation along adhesive–adherend interfaces whereas an elasto-plastic material model was used for the adhesive zone between upper and lower adhesive interfaces as well as the adherends. The effect of the plastic deformation ability of adherend material on the damage mechanism of the adhesive layer was also studied for two aluminum materials Al 2024-T3 and Al 5754-0 having different strength and plastic deformation ability. The effects of impact energy (3 and 11 J) and the overlap length (25 and 40 mm) were also investigated. The predicted contact force-time, contact force-central displacement variations, the damage initiation and propagation mechanism were verified with experimental ones. The SEM and macroscope photographs of the adhesive fracture surfaces were similar to those of the explicit dynamic finite element analysis.     

Fatigue life and backface strain predictions in adhesively bonded joints

Fatigue is a very important factor in any adhesively bonded structure subject to service loads. Prediction of fatigue life using finite element analysis (FEA) techniques is very complicated due to the complex nature of fatigue damage. This paper presents experimental data obtained by testing single lap joints (SLJs) in constant amplitude fatigue at a range of load levels and associated fatigue damage modelling. Six strain gauges (SGs) placed along the overlap were used to monitor fatigue initiation and propagation within the adhesive layer. An elasto-plastic damage model was developed that was capable of predicting the experimentally observed backface strain patterns and fatigue life at different fatigue loads. It was implemented in the finite element code ABAQUS and used a user defined subroutine to calculate the damage, and the resultant degradation in adhesive Young's modulus and yield stress.     

A review of finite element analysis of adhesively bonded joints

The need to design lightweight structures and the increased use of lightweight materials in industrial fields, have led to wide use of adhesive bonding. Recent work relating to finite element analysis of adhesively bonded joints is reviewed in this paper, in terms of static loading analysis, environmental behaviors, fatigue loading analysis and dynamic characteristics of the adhesively bonded joints. It is concluded that the finite element analysis of adhesively bonded joints will help future applications of adhesive bonding by allowing system parameters to be selected to give as large a process window as possible for successful joint manufacture. This will allow many different designs to be simulated in order to perform a selection of different designs before testing, which would currently take too long to perform or be prohibitively expensive in practice.     

An updated review of adhesively bonded joints in composite materials

Continuing interest and more developments in recent years indicated that it would be useful to update Banea and da Silva paper entitled “Adhesively bonded joints in composite materials: an overview”. This paper presents an updated review of adhesively bonded joints in composite materials, which covers articles published from 2009 to 2016. The main parameters that affect the performance of bonded joints such as surface treatment, joint configuration, geometric and material parameters, failure mode etc. are discussed. The environmental factors such as pre-bond moisture, moisture and temperature are also discussed in detail and how they affect the durability of adhesive joints. Lots of shortcomings were resolved during the last years by developing new materials, new methods and models. However, there is still a potential to evaluate and identify the best possible combination of parameters which would give the best performance of composite bonded joints.     

Modeling the temperature-dependent mode I fracture behavior of adhesively bonded joints

An ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber film has been used as an inhibitor and insulation in solid rocket motors (SRMs) due to its excellent heat-insulating property. EPDM is wrapped on the surface of the grain layer-by-layer via an adhesive; thus, the adhesive property between EPDM films is one of the key factors that influence the structural integrity of an SRM. The adhesive properties are largely temperature dependent, therefore, it is essential to study the effect of temperature on the properties of the bonding interface between EPDM films. In this article, double cantilever sandwich beam (DCSB) and uniaxial tensile experiments were performed to study the temperature-dependent mode I fracture of the bonding interface, in the service temperature range of the SRMs. A comparison of experimental and numerical results obtained using experimental parameters indicates that the fracture parameters determined by the simple beam theory (SBT) and the compliance-based beam method (CBBM) are not accurate. Next, we obtained accurate parameters using an inverse analysis method. Moreover, we made an initial attempt to establish a temperature-dependent cohesive zone model to predict the temperature-dependent fracture behavior of adhesively bonded joints. Good agreement between experimental and numerical results demonstrates that this temperature-dependent model is applicable.     

Theoretical and experimental studies for the failure criterion of adhesively bonded joints

The objective of this work was to develop a criterion for predicting the failure strength of joints bonded by ductile adhesives. To obtain the criterion, first, fracture tests were carried out on T-peel joints and single-lap joints with various joint geometries, adhesives, and adherend materials. Then using the fracture loads obtained in the tests, a finite element analysis was performed by which the stresses in the adhesive joints were calculated. It is concluded that the failure of an adhesively bonded joint occurs when the maximum of the ratio of the mean to effective stresses exceeds a certain value, which can be considered a new material constant of a ductile adhesive.