Experimental & numerical study of the Tensile/Compression-Shear Arcan test under dynamic loading

Abstract

The characterization of the adhesive of bonded assemblies under combined and dynamic loading cases appears to be crucial for the development of the future structures dedicated to the transport industry. To date, most of the tests on adhesive joints are dedicated to comparative studies and only a few ones to characterization. Among these, the stress concentration-free bonded Arcan Tensile/Compression-Shear test specimen (Arcan TCS) developed by Créac’hcadec et al. allows to characterize the adhesive of bonded joints under combined quasi-static loading cases while minimizing the edge effects. This paper deals with an extension of the use of this specimen under dynamic loadings.In a first part, an experimental study of the Arcan TCS device under drop weight conditions is made. The mechanical behaviour of the adhesive appears to be non-linear and clearly dependent of the strain rate. Also, stress-strain curves highlight a significant influence of tests conditions. In particular, the way the kinetic energy is transmitted by the falling mass to the testing device plays a significant role on the vibrational behaviour and the loading rate of the specimen.In a second part, a dedicated finite element model is built under the plane stress and elastic assumptions. Results extracted from this numerical study are in agreement with several experimental observations. Moreover, they allow a better understanding of the loading seen by the adhesive.