Numerical study of flexible tubular metal-polymer adhesive joints

Abstract

ABSTRACT Bonded tubular joints have found use in various engineering and industrial applications, providing an efficient and durable method for joining tubular substrates while ensuring good sealing properties. In this work, a novel design approach is proposed for bonded flexible tubular metal-polymer joints, subjected to large torsional rotations under a complex loading and large deformations of the adherends. Two distinct finite element models were developed for this purpose. One to optimize the joint behaviour for small rotation values and another to predict the overall joint strength using cohesive zone modelling and introducing the effect of buckling in the polymeric tubular adherends. Different polymeric materials were also considered in order to assess the influence of hyperelastic properties in the joint behaviour and strength. A good agreement between experimental results for three different joint layouts and the numerical results was obtained. Results show that for smaller rotation values, a 2D model can be used to accurately predict the joint behaviour. Nonetheless, for high rotation values and large deformation of the polymer materials a complex 3D model, including the effect of buckling, is necessary to predict the joint strength.