Evaluation of Fatigue Damage in Adhesive Bonding: Part 1: Bulk Adhesive

The measurement of fatigue damage in adhesive bonding has been investigated. Bulk adhesive was used in this study for two reasons: the stress distribution of adhesives in bulk is simpler to investigate than adhesives in joints; and the specimen dimensions met fatigue test standards. Bulk adhesive was made from a film type of epoxy resin. In general, the characteristics and the behaviour of bulk adhesive may differ from adhesive in joint because of the presence of voids and the constraints imposed by the substrates. Low cycle fatigue tests with a load amplitude ratio of 0.1 at a frequency of 5 Hz were performed to determine the damage as a function of the number of cycles. Damage curves, i.e., the evolution of the damage variable as a function of number of cycles, were derived and plotted using an isotropic damage equation. Damage was evaluated using the decrease of stress range during the lifecycles of a constant displacement amplitude test. It was found that the damage curves were well fitted by a low cycle, fatigue damage evolution law equation. This equation was derived from a dissipation potential function. Curve fitting was performed using the robust least square technique rather than ordinary linear least square technique because damage curves have extreme points (usually near the failure point). It was found that the fitting process would not converge for adhesive fractures at high cycle values (N _f > 9000). Two damage constants A and β were found from the fitting process. Each fatigue set of data, at a certain level of von-Mises stress range for the undamaged state or at the stabilized hardened state, (Δσ*_eq), had a different set of damage parameters A and β. Linear regression of these points was used to express A and β as a function of Δσ*_eq. Using these expressions, damage curves for different levels of Δσ*_eq could be predicted.     

A New Test Methodology for Simultaneous Assessment of Monotonic and Fatigue Behaviors of Adhesive Joints

Adhesive joints are normally subjected to different working conditions in their service life. This may involve both static and cyclic loadings. In many instances, a combination of various loading conditions occurs that can be further provoked by exposure to hostile environments. This, in turn, leads to the need to characterize the joint behavior under different combinations of working conditions. Extensive experimental tests are needed in order to evaluate the joint performance under such variable working conditions. This implies the development of low cost and efficient test technique, the one that is simple and reduces the operator time as well. With this objective in mind, a novel technique in mechanical evaluation of adhesive joints was developed in the present work. Alternative monotonic and variable-amplitude cyclic loads were applied on the same double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens under cleavage mode. DCB specimens were made from aluminum bars joined together by a two-part toughened structural adhesive. On one face, a series of crack detection sensors were bonded to control the test machine for switching between monotonic and cyclic loadings. The test machine had two aligned hydraulic actuators which applied bending forces on the upper and lower arms of the DCB specimen. The effects of test frequency and applied load history were also investigated within a range of 4–20 Hz for a nominal adhesive thickness of 0.5 mm. The fatigue performance of each configuration was represented by a power-law relationship and was compared for different test conditions. The test results revealed that the fatigue damage occurred at relatively lower load levels (35%) when compared with monotonic fracture load. The power-law constants for the tested adhesive were influenced by test frequency but were not sensitive to loading order.     

Damage Parameters of Adhesive Joints with General Triaxiality,Part 2: Scarf Joint Analysis

Based on the finite element results presented in part 1 of this paper, scarf joint was chosen for further experimental investigation in order to investigate triaxiality as a function of bondline angle. At laboratory scale, scarf joints can be manufactured relatively easy due to their simple geometry. In part 2 of this paper, scarf joints as well as additional jig/fixture were manufactured. The jig/fixture were used to hold the joint during heating process and to grip it during testing. Several low cycle fatigue data have been produced as a function of bondline angle. Damage evolution was measured from the reduction of stresses in displacement controlled fatigue tests. The damage parameters, namely A and β, which are required to describe the damage evolution in the scarf joint, were determined. These damage parameters were functions of the stress level and the triaxiality function. Following on, several damage evolution relationships, i.e. a damage equation for each combination of stress/triaxiality, have been derived. It was found that the highest level of damage occurred at locations where the combinations of von Mises stress and triaxiality function have their maximum values.     

Effects of various adherend surface treatments on fatigue behavior of joints bonded with a silver-filled electronically conductive adhesive

Conductive adhesives have been used in a variety of electronic packaging applications. This paper presents an investigation into the effects of various adherend surface treatments on the fatigue and failure behaviors of adhesively-bonded joints. For this purpose, single-lap joints were fabricated using specimens with adherend surfaces modified employing various chemical and mechanical modification techniques, and tested under a spectrum of fatigue and environmental conditions. The results of our work indicate a profound influence of the adherend surface on both the fatigue behavior and also the moisture ingress mechanism into the joint. Finally, experiments were conducted to assess the effect of adherend surface condition on the moisture ingress mechanism.     

Environmental interactions with fatigue crack growth in alpha/beta titanium alloys

The impact of different environments on the growth of short through cracks (0.25 mm<a<3 mm) in thin section DEN test pieces (t=2 mm) is evaluated for the titanium alloy IMI318 (Ti–6Al–4V) at atmosphere. Both oxidising and reducing atmospheres have been considered in the form of air, chlorine and hydrogen gas at various levels of partial pressure. Data are presented for crack growth under cyclic and dwell waveforms and for R values of 0.01 and 0.625. It is demonstrated that the measured rates are extremely sensitive to the gaseous species. This sensitivity is reflected in fracture surface features and quasi-cleavage facetting in particular. The implications for engineering component life predictions are discussed.     

Novel capacitance sensor design for measuring coating debonding: the effects of thermal-hygroscopic cycling

The effects of combined thermal and hygroscopic cycling on the adhesion performance of an epoxy coating were measured using a novel electrode sensor. The sensor is uniquely designed, consisting of a series of independent interdigitated electrode traces which are arranged parallel to the sensor edges. Coupled with single-frequency capacitance measurements, the sensor detects changes in capacitance in the adhered coating–sensor interfacial region as a function of the distance from the edge of the sensor, x. Recently, this sensor was utilized by O'Brien and co-workers to measure interfacial diffusion and the concentration profile of fluid in an adhesive joint (Int. J. Adhesion Adhesives 23, 335–338 (2003)). In the present work, large capacitance changes due to debonding and displacement of the coating by fluids at the sensor surface were used to monitor coating delamination. The apparent debond growth rate and number of cycles until failure were determined as a function of coating thickness, fluid environment and sensor surface chemistry. The results show that the coating becomes more durable as the thickness is reduced; and also that thermal and hygroscopic cycling of coatings produces different results than conventional continuous adhesion tests. This study suggests that this novel sensor or a similar design is applicable for the study of adhesion loss and interfacial diffusion processes, and could be extended to other coatings or adhesives in a variety of environments. General trends about coating durability are also discussed.     

Simulation of Mixed-Mode I/II Fatigue Crack Propagation in Adhesive Joints with a Modified Cohesive Zone Model

A model to predict fatigue crack growth in bonded joints under mixed mode I/II conditions is developed in this work. The model is implemented in the finite element software ABAQUS using the related USDFLD subroutine. The present model is based on the cohesive zone (CZ) concept, where damage develops according to the value of the opening/sliding at the bondline under static loading, and according to a cyclic damage accumulation law under fatigue loading. The damage accumulation law is obtained by distributing the cyclic crack area increment over the process zone ahead of the crack tip, where the cyclic crack area increment is calculated according to a Paris-like law that relates the crack growth rate to the applied loading. In this way, the experimental crack growth rate is related directly to damage evolution in the cohesive zone, i.e., no additional parameters have to be tuned besides the quasi-static cohesive zone parameters.     

Long fatigue crack growth behaviour of ferritic steel weld metal

Abstract

Single edge notched weld joint specimens were tested at different stress levels to study the long fatigue crack growth behaviour of a ferritic steel (nuclear grade SA333 Grade 6 steel) weld metal at two stress ratios R of 0·1 and – 1. A two slope behaviour was noticed in the crack growth rate versus stress intensity factor range plots at both stress ratios. Different parameters were employed to generalise the load ratio effect on fatigue crack growth rate.     

Effect of microstructure on mechanical properties for A356 casting alloy

Abstract

A quantitative study of the relationship between microstructural features such as secondary dendrite arm spacing (DAS), eutectic structure and mechanical behaviours of A356 casting alloys has been conducted. In the condition of minimising casting defects, the influence of microstructural features on the mechanical performance becomes more pronounced. Depending on the cooling rate affecting the primary and eutectic microstructure, the tensile properties were changed upon experimental conditions, i.e. both of tensile strength and elongation were increased with decreasing DAS, also the results were the same at high temperatures. The increase in both of room temperature high cycle fatigue and high temperature low cycle fatigue lives with decreasing DAS was observed, mainly due to homogeneous deformation owing to the fine size of eutectic silicon and Fe intermetallic particles. The observation of fracture surfaces was conducted to find the effect of microstructure on mechanical properties by a scanning electron microscope.     

Effect of microstructure on tensile and fatigue properties of cast Mg–10Gd–2Y–0·5Zr alloy

Abstract

The microstructure and its effect on tensile properties and fatigue properties of a Mg–10Gd–2Y–0·5Zr (wt-%) cast alloy have been studied. The microstructures of as-cast, solution treated and T6 treated specimens were examined by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tensile properties and fatigue properties of the specimens were determined and fractography was carried out. The SEM examination showed that the precipitates after T6 treatment were mainly distributed at grain boundaries, which accounts for the intergranular brittle fracture observed. The average grain size of the specimens measured after solution treatment varied from 87 to 128 μm. The mechanical tests showed that the tensile strength and low cycle fatigue strength increase with decreasing average grain size, whereas high fatigue strength is less sensitive to grain size. The fractography indicated that ductile and brittle fracture patterns coexist.