Effect of Curing Pressure on the Strength of Adhesively Bonded Joints

It is important to be able to predict the mechanical response of adhesively bonded joints. To succeed in this, the accurate simulation of the behavior of adhesively bonded joints is an essential requirement because of the strain rate, temperature, and hydrostatic sensitivity of adhesive properties, which should be taken into consideration when developing a material model [1-11 Dean , G. D. and Crocker , L. E. , Comparison of the Measured and Predicted Deformation of an Adhesively Bonded Lap-Joint Specimen, NPL CMMT(A) 293 ( National Physical Laboratory , Teddington , UK , 2000 ). Read , B. E. , Dean , G. D. , and Ferriss , D. H. , An Elastic–Plastic Model for the Non-linear Mechanical Behaviour of Rubber-Toughened Adhesives, NPL CMMT(A) 289 ( National Physical Laboratory , Teddington , UK , 2000 ). Broughton , W. R. , Crocker , L. E. , and Urquhart , J. M. , Strength of Adhesive Joints: A Parametric Study , NPL MATC(A) 27 ( National Physical Laboratory , Teddington , UK , 2000 ). Dean , G. D. , Crocker , L. E. , Read , B. , and Wright , L. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 24 , 295 – 306 ( 2004 ). Adams , R. D. , Coppendale , J. , Mallick , V. , and Al-Hamdan , H. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 12 ( 3 ), 185 – 190 ( 1992 ). Wang , C. H. and Chalkley , P. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 20 ( 2 ), 155 – 164 ( 2000 ). Adams , R. D. , The Mechanics of Bonded Joints Structural Adhesives in Engineering ( ImechE Conference Publications , Suffolk , UK 1986 ). Harris , J. A. and Adams , R. D. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 4 ( 2 ), 65 – 78 ( 1984 ). Crocombe , A. D. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 15 ( 1 ), 21 – 27 ( 1995 ). Zgoul , M. and Crocombe , A. D. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 24 ( 4 ), 355 – 366 ( 2004 ). Adams , R. D. and Harris , J. A. , Int. J. Adhes. Adhes. 7 ( 2 ), 69 – 80 ( 1987 ). ]. On the other hand, the load capabilities of adhesively bonded joints are affected by both applied pressure and temperature during cure. For this reason, in this study, the tensile load capabilities of single lap joints (SLJs) bonded with a flexible adhesive that possesses pressure-sensitive properties were experimentally investigated with respect to the applied pressure during the curing operation, and the experimental results were compared with finite element analysis (FEA) results. Finally, in addition to other parameters, such as the dependence on strain rate and the lack of yield criteria of adhesives, it was seen that the residual thermal stresses that occurred as a result of the applied pressure during the curing process at elevated temperature need to be taken into consideration to accurately simulate the mechanical behavior of adhesively bonded joints.