Visco-elasto-plastic constitutive model of adhesives under uniaxial compression in a range of strain rates

Determining the constitutive model of adhesives enables the prediction of the mechanical response of hybrid structures in which the adhesive is used. In this study, the stress–strain behavior of a two-component structural adhesive was first measured in uniaxial compression experiments at the strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 2600 s^?1 for developing a constitutive model. It was found that the compressive response, including elastic modulus, yield strength, and plastic flow stress, is substantially influenced by the strain rate. In plastic deformation, the strain rate sensitivity is not constant but varies with the rate; moreover, strain softening and hardening dominate the plastic deformation at low and high strains, respectively. A visco-elasto-plastic constitutive model was then proposed for the adhesive, integrating the strain rate sensitivity that was quantified by empirical equations. The model which was validated can reliably represent the strain rate dependent compressive behavior of the adhesive. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48962.