Effect of adhesive thickness on the strength of steel-composite joints aged in wet environment

Abstract

This paper presents the effect of adhesive layer thickness on the static strength of adhesively bonded steel-glass fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester resin (GFRP) lap joints after being aged in water at a temperature of 60°C for 15 days. The adhesive thickness was varied from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm. It was found that for the dry joints, the static strength increased with the increase of adhesive thickness. However, in wet condition, water really had a significant detrimental effect on the strength of the joints, as most of the strengths of wet joints were much lower than those of the dry joints. In dry condition, mode of failure changed from interfacial (at the adhesive thickness of 0.1 mm) to mix failure; however, for the wet joints; most of failures were at the interface of adhesive/steel.