Experimental investigation of hydrothermal ageing on single lap bonded CFRP joints

Abstract

Composite materials are increasingly being used in various field of engineering interest over recent decades. As an alternative to fastening, bonding is one of the most promising assembly techniques of composite materials since it allows a uniform distribution of forces, it has a greater ability to dampen vibration and it does not raise any problems of corrosion typical of metal fasteners.Currently the use of composite materials is limited by the incomplete knowledge of their behaviour in an aggressive environment. For example, the factors influencing the durability of the bonded joints are mainly temperature and humidity, but it is usually impossible to predict their effect without performing experiments. In this work is investigated how the hydrothermal ageing can affect the mechanical resistance of CFRP single lap joints. The parameters chosen for the activity consist in two types of adhesives (AF 163-2K film and EA 9309NA paste) and three ageing environments (thermal cycles from -28 °C to 85 °C in air, distilled water and salt water).