The mechanical behaviour of adhesively bonded composite joints under repeated axial impacts at different temperatures

Abstract

Abstract In this study, the failure strength of single-lap adhesively bonded joints was investigated. The glass fibre epoxy composites used as adherends were manufactured by using a vacuum-assisted resin infusion method. These composites were bonded with a commercial material of epoxy-adhesive DP-460, which can be cured easily at room temperature. The specimens were built by bonding, and then repeated axial impact loads having various energy levels (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 J) were implemented to the single-lap adhesively bonded composite joints at different temperatures (-20°C, 0°C, 20°C, 40°C, and 60°C). Subsequently, the specimens were exposed to static tensile loading at the same temperatures as those applied during the primary impacts. The variation in failure loads due to the effects of repeated axial impact loadings at different temperatures were investigated. Generally, the increase of impact energy level from 0 to 20 J leads to a gradual decrease in failure loads at all temperature levels except for the specific value of 40°C.