Experimental analysis of the bondline stress concentrations to characterize the influence of adhesive ductility on the composite single lap joint strength

K. B. Katnam, J. X. Dhôte, T. M. Young

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Adhesively bonded composite single lap joints were experimentally investigated to analyze the bondline stress concentrations and characterize the influence of adhesive ductility on the joint strength. Two epoxy paste adhesives-one with high tensile strength and low ductility, and the other with relatively low tensile strength and high ductility-were used to manufacture composite single lap joints. Quasi-static tensile tests were conducted on the single lap joints to failure at room temperature. High magnification twodimensional digital image correlation was used to analyze strain distributions near the adhesive fillet regions. The failure mechanisms were examined using scanning electron microscopy to understand the effect of adhesive ductility on the joint strength. For a given surface treatment and laminate type, the results show that adhesive ductility significantly increases the joint strength by positively influencing stress distribution and failure mechanism near the overlap edges. Moreover, it is shown that high magnification two-dimensional digital image correlation can successfully be used to study the damage initiation phase in composite bonded joints.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)486-506
Number of pages21
JournalJournal of Adhesion
Volume89
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • Adhesive ductility
  • Composite bonding
  • Destructive testing
  • Digital image correlation
  • Fractography

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