Abstract
Abstract This work investigates the effect of long-term environmental exposure on the performance of composite-to-metal bonded joints. Specimens are manufactured using a carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) co-bonded to a steel member with epoxy adhesive and aged in a salt spray chamber. The mixed-mode fracture behavior of the non-aged and aged specimens is assessed using the mixed-mode bending (MMB) test apparatus. The fracture energy is calculated using the finite elements method and an analytical approach, the strain-based method (SBM). The SBM showed to be a simple and accurate method to obtain the total fracture energy and the fracture mode ratio of the bi-material specimen. Ageing increased the fracture toughness at crack initiation by 27% for specimens loaded at 20% mode II and 7% for specimens loaded at 15% mode II. This can be related to the shear behavior and plasticization of the adhesive material. During crack propagation, the fracture toughness remained similar for specimens loaded at 20% mode II and decreased by 15% in specimens loaded at 15% mode II. Fractography analysis together with chemical characterization showed that the penetration of moisture at the edges of the fracture surface produced adhesive failure in these regions affected by moisture. Moreover, the failure mode at the unaffected regions of the fracture surface shifted from cohesive to a combination of thin-layer cohesive and adhesive failure after ageing. The results contributed to describe the effect of ageing on the fracture behavior of bonded materials.
Highlights
The requirement of lightweight structures has encouraged the introduction of composite materials in industrial applications
Ageing increased the fracture toughness at crack initiation by 27% for specimens loaded at 20% mode II and 7% for specimens loaded at 15% mode II
Fractography analysis together with chemical characterization showed that the penetration of moisture at the edges of the fracture surface produced adhesive failure in these regions affected by moisture
Summary
The requirement of lightweight structures has encouraged the introduction of composite materials in industrial applications. Arouche et al [13] and Teixeira de Freitas et al [14] verified a relation between the reduction of peel strength in composite-to-metal bonded joints and the moisture pene tration in salt water and salt spray, as a consequence of the change in the failure mechanism from cohesive to adhesive failure after ageing. Fernandes et al [21] evaluated the effect of ageing in metal bonded joints using a secondary bonding method with aged adhesive plates They detected an increase of the fracture toughness after exposure to salt water due to plasticization of the adhesive, while degradation of the fracture toughness was observed in distilled water as consequence of a substantial reduction of the glass transition temperature. A fracture surface analysis together with a chemical characterization are performed in order to evaluate the failure mechanisms in association with the performance of the bonded joint subjected to environmental exposure
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