Influence of uniform temperature variations on hybrid bonded joints with a circular or tubular cross-sectional area

Abstract

The use of lightweight structures is a current concern in several engineering domains. To obtain such types of structures, the bonding technique using Carbon Fibre-Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) has been most recently considered a primary option. If CFRP is known to have a high strength-to-weight ratio or high corrosion resistance, the bonding technique does not need to add other fixation components and it also prevents stress concentrations. However, when combined with, e.g. a metallic surface, the high difference between the thermal expansion coefficient of the CFRP composite and the metallic material may raise some issues when the adhesively bonded structure is subjected to thermal loading. Therefore, the present work presents an analytical model that facilitates the comprehension of the impact of temperature on a hybrid bonded joint with a circular or tubular cross-sectional area. The full debonding process of a double but bonded joint with a regular curvature is discussed thoroughly. Due to the susceptibility of current adhesives to lose their mechanical properties for relatively high temperatures, the vitreous transition temperature of the adhesives and their influence on the local adhesive model is considered in a deeper analysis. The Finite Element Method (FEM) was used to validate all the derived analytical equations, which were achieved due to the close predictions obtained from both ways, i.e. from the numerical simulations and the proposed closed-form solutions.