Fatigue performance of single lap joints with CFRP and aluminium substrates prior and after hygrothermal aging

Abstract

AbstractAdhesive bonding has been extensively used to join composites and aluminium alloys in the automotive industry, but a deeper understanding of its fatigue behaviour is still required. This work presents a novel evaluation of the combined performance of joints manufactured with carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) and aluminium substrates subjected to fatigue loads in the unaged, hygrothermally aged, and dried after hygrothermal aging states. The experimental results allowed to conclude that the fatigue performance of joints can be affected by changes induced by the drying process or losses in the interface strength and that dissimilar combination of substrates sustains higher number of cycles to failure. The fatigue performance of joints with dissimilar substrates was found to be better than that of joints with similar substrates, which can be attributed to the lower stresses acting on the adhesive layer. The presence of water has also noticeably changed the fatigue performance of joints with dissimilar substrates.