Adherend Thickness Research Articles

Viscoelastic-adhesive modeling of hybrid adhesively bonded double-lap joints: analytical and numerical studies

ABSTRACT There are a limited number of studies examining the viscoelastic and viscoplastic behavior of adhesive joints. If there is more than one adhesive in the overlap region, the problem becomes more complex and viscoelastic modeling of the overlap region becomes difficult. There is no study in the literature that covers such a bonding (overlap) scheme and examines the viscoelastic behavior of the double lap joint (DLJ). In this study, the effect of viscoelasticity of polymeric adhesives on shear stress and strain distributions in the hybrid-adhesive layer of a DLJ is studied. Maxwell-Wiechert (MW) viscoelastic material model is used to define the viscoelastic behavior of the adhesives. Analytical and finite element (FE) results are compared for both mono- and hybrid-adhesive joints under the step load. Good matches are observed between the analytical and numerical results. Four different hybrid-adhesive joints with different combinations of the adherend thicknesses are investigated by considering only the analytical method. In order to investigate the effect of the loading type on the viscoelastic behavior, step and ramp loads were applied to the joint separately. It is observed that applying the ramp load to the hybrid-adhesive joints affects the shear stresses occurred at the ends of the overlap more than the mono-adhesive joints.

Optimization of adherend thickness and overlap length on failure load of bonded 3D printed PETG parts using response surface method

PurposeAdhesive bonding is critical to the effectiveness and structural integrity of 3D printed components. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of joint configuration on failure loads to improve the design and performance of single lap joints (SLJs) in 3D printed parts.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, adherends were fabricated using material extrusion 3D printing technology with polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). A toughened methacrylate adhesive was chosen to bond the SLJs after adherend printing. In this study, response surface methodology (RSM) was used to examine the effect of the independent variables of failure load, manufacturing time and mass on the dependent variable of joint configuration; adherend thickness (3.2, 4.0, 4.8, 5.6, 6.4, and 7.2 mm) and overlap lengths (12.7, 25.4, 38.1, and 50.8 mm) of 3D printed PETG SLJs.FindingsThe strength of the joints improved significantly with the increase in overlap length and adherend thickness, although the relationship was not linear. The maximum failure load occurred with a thickness of 7.2 mm and an overlap of 50.8 mm, whilst the minimum failure load was determined with a thickness of 3.2 mm and an overlap of 12.7 mm. The RSM findings show that the optimum failure load was achieved with an adherend thickness of 3.6 mm and an overlap length of 37.9 mm for SLJ.Originality/valueThis study provides insight into the optimum failure load for 3D printed SLJs, reducing SLJ production time and mass, producing lightweight structures due to the nature of 3D printing, and increasing the use of these parts in load-bearing applications.

Deflection and stress characteristics of single lap joint (adhesively bonded) theoretical analysis and experimental verification

The adhesively bonded single-lap joint strength is computed numerically and verified with the experiment. An ABAQUS model is prepared to analyze by adding the primary information, i.e., geometry, material properties, element, and solution type, including the boundary conditions. The model accuracy has been verified through two-step comparisons with published numerical deflection data and in-house experiments. The validated model is used to compute the energy-absorbing capacity better to understand lap joint strength. Further, the statistical analysis (variance-based sensitivity analysis) is conducted to measure the model output variability with the model input parameter. Additionally, the influences of geometry and property-dependent design parameters (layup schemes, loading position, adherend thickness ratio (L/t), and adhesive thickness ratio: (a/h), including the overlapping length (25, 30, 35, and 40 mm) are examined through several examples. The conclusions on the overlap length in bonded joints are that an increase in intact/lap length improves the joint stiffness and decreases the deflection. Similarly, a few insights on layer sequence (angle-ply) and shear stress thickness ratio are discussed in detail.

Mechanical characterization of ultrasonically welded CF/PEEK laminates by short beam shear test

Bond strength between composite plates has often been evaluated using single-lap shear tests, with the difficulty of having the characteristics of the entire bond area reflected in the results. To overcome this limitation, a short-beam shear test was performed in this study. The specimens were fabricated by ultrasonic welding using carbon fiber reinforced polyether ether ketone laminates as the adherend and a resin mesh. The effect on mechanical characterization was investigated by varying the thickness and stacking configuration of the adherend and the welding energy. The highest apparent interlaminar shear strength was observed when an approximately 3 mm thick adherend of the quasi-isotropic laminate was welded, and the strength was approximately 17% lower than that of non-welded laminates.

Numerical Prediction and Experimental Verification of Inherent Defect Influences on Frequencies of Adhesively Bonded Joint

The vibrational response of adhesively bonded joints with and without defects in the adhesive layer is predicted by simulation for the different overlapping lengths in this work. The eigenvalue extraction method (Block Lanczo’s) is employed within the finite element analysis (FEA) framework to predict the modal values of adhesively bonded joints. The numerical analysis has adopted a solid 20-node quadratic brick elements with reduced integration (C3D20R) to predict the realistic values. The predicted eigenvalues of adhesively bonded joints using an FEA solution are compared with published data and verified the accuracy of the FEA model through experimentation considering defective and non-defective joints. Additionally, simulation solutions are predicted for different overlap lengths (i.e., 25, 30, 35 and 40 mm) by changing the boundary conditions, adhesive bond thickness aspect ratio, adherend thickness ratio, defect position, and defect aspect ratio. The geometries of the adhesive and adherend significantly affect vibration responses through the dampening effect and structural weight, enhancing the stiffness. Defect position and geometry have negligible impact on the natural frequency values for all overlapping lengths except when located around the overlapping edges.

‘Resin welding’: A novel route to joining acrylic composite components at room temperature

The solubility of acrylic polymer in its own liquid monomer creates the opportunity to ‘weld’ acrylic-matrix (Elium®) composites without the application of heat. In this method, termed resin welding, acrylic monomeric resin is infused between acrylic-matrix composite parts. The resin dissolves and diffuses into the acrylic matrix and creates a continuous material, and a strong bond, when it polymerises, without the sensitivities of traditional welding methods to adherend or bondline thickness. Single lap shear testing was conducted on resin-welded and adhesively-bonded coupons with varying bondline thicknesses and filling fibres, and the bonding and fracture mechanisms were investigated using SEM and the diffusion of dyed acrylic resin. The highest bond strength of resin-welded coupons reached 27.9 MPa, which is 24 % higher than the strongest weld reported in the literature, indicating that resin welding is a promising alternative to traditional bonding and welding methods for acrylic-matrix composites.

Experimental and numerical investigation of adhesively bonded kfrp/steel double strap joints incorporating eggshell powder-toughened epoxy adhesive

Due to the environmental concerns, the application of natural FRPs to replace synthetic fibre as a strengthening material has increased. Kenaf fibre-reinforced polymer (KFRP) has comparable specific strength with glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP). Moreover, epoxy resin is widely used as a matrix of composites and adhesives; however, it has low shear strength. Improvement of epoxy properties is therefore required, for example, by incorporating biofiller such as eggshells from household waste, which contain calcite, to improve its shear strength. Testing series includes variations of KFRP bond length, KFRP thickness and eggshell filler volume fractions. All the DSJ specimens underwent a two-stage testing process, experimentally and numerically. In Stage 1, experimental work was performed on the specimens through quasi-static tensile tests, following the ASTM D3528–96. In Stage 2, numerical studies were conducted to predict the strength using the extended finite element method (XFEM) within ABAQUS CAE. Subsequently, the strength prediction from developed 2-D FEA models was validated by the experimental datasets. All testing specimens exhibited KFRP rupture mode. For all the studied overlap lengths, the joint strength increased with the increase of the studied composite's adherend thickness (1 - 4 mm); however, the overlap length reached the optimum at the overlap length of 80 mm, where beyond that overlap length, the joint strength tended to decrease. The maximum joint strength is achieved with a combination of 80 mm bond length and 4 mm KFRP thickness, resulting in a 226.5% enhancement compared to the baseline (composite thickness of 1 mm, with adhesive without filler). Moreover, it was found that volume fraction of 5% eggshell was the optimum. The strength prediction was performed using an extended finite element method (XFEM), In general, there were good agreements in both experimental datasets and XFEM models, with discrepancies of less than 16.1% (averaging less than 8%). The FEA modelling approaches are promising for predicting the joint strength of KFRP/steel DSJ.

Experimental and numerical investigation of tensile-loaded staggered bolted and hybrid pultruded composite double lap joints

On-site construction projects typically employ staggered fastener patterns. This article describes the application of Hollo Bolts (HB). It also highlights the effectiveness of using flexible epoxy adhesive to increase the load-carrying capacity of staggered connections fastened with HB. The distribution of loads between connecting elements largely determines joint performance. Pultruded glass fiber reinforced polymer (PGFRP), bolted (B), and hybrid bolted/bonded (BB) double lap joints were subjected to a typical pulling load and numerically validated in this investigation. To simulate delamination effects, a Cohesive Zone Model with a 3D progressive damage analysis was developed. In addition, a parametric study capturing the influence of various geometrical variables such as e/d, overlap length, bolt size, adherend thickness, and the number of bolts was used to compare both categories of joints in detail. The results indicate that for staggered connections fastened with HB, an efficient load transfer can be obtained in conjunction with flexible epoxy adhesive. It is anticipated that this interaction will be even more effective as the overlap length, adherend thickness, and fastener diameter increase. The present study proves that BB connections are 43.56% stronger than B connections.

Fracture prediction of solder joints using two-parameter fracture mechanics

Two-parameter fracture mechanics theory is a novel approach to investigate the fracture behavior of solder joints. The present study showed that the single-parameter fracture mechanics was not valid for evaluating the fracture behavior of these joints. Therefore, the ability of the two-parameter (J-Q) fracture mechanics method was assessed. J (critical strain energy release rate) and Q (The constraint parameter) parameters were calculated for the double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens. The two-parameter fracture mechanics theory was observed to be valid for the DCB specimens examined in this research. The J-Q loci extracted from two distinct experimental data sets (adherend thickness and loading arm variation) were coincident. The overlap of two J-Q locus curves indicates the uniqueness of the J-Q locus and capability to predict fracture load.

Effect of Adherend Thickness on Near-Field Ultrasonic Welding of Single-Lap CF/LMPAEK Thermoplastic Composite Joints

Ultrasonic welding is a fast and promising joining technique for thermoplastic composite parts. Understanding how changing the part thickness affects the process is crucial to its future upscaling and industrialization. This article presents an initial insight into the effect of the adherend’s thickness on the near-field ultrasonic welding of CF/LMPAEK thermoplastic composites. Different thicknesses of the top and bottom adherend were welded and analyzed using the output data of the welding equipment, temperature measurements, and other visual characterization techniques. Increasing the thickness of both the top and the bottom adherends showed to increase the power consumed during welding. An overshoot in the power needed at the onset of the welding process for increased thickness of the top adherend precluded welding beyond a threshold thickness of 4.72 mm. In the case of the thicker top adherends, there was also melting of the energy director and early fiber squeeze-out within the top adherend as a result of increased bulk heating. Increased bulk heating was hypothesized to be caused by increased hammering, as indicated by the amplitude readings for thicker adherends. Welding with a higher force, which is known to reduce hammering, corroborated this hypothesis as fiber squeeze-out within the top adherend was not observed. It is believed that hammering contributes to heating by causing an oscillatory impact excitation that is close to the natural frequencies of the system, which would result in amplification of the cyclic strain and subsequent increase in the viscoelastic heating in the adherend.

Application of data mining techniques for assessment of fracture load and energy in double cantilever beam solder joints

Predicting the exact values of fracture load and energy has a significant effect in preventing solder joint failure. In this research, various double cantilever beam (DCB) solder joints with different geometric constraints, including adherend thickness, adherend width, loading arm length, and solder thickness were tested under mode I crack propagation and at a strain rate of 0.03 . According to ANOVA test results, all the mentioned geometric factors influence the fracture load, but adherend width and solder thickness don't change the failure energy remarkably, considering the type I error is equal to 0.05. The failure load and energy forecasting using the random forest algorithm showed that the prediction accuracy is 92% and 81% respectively. Linear regression and lasso regression were also utilized to identify the solder joint's fracture behavior. The coefficient of determination in both methods is acceptable for solder joint fracture force prediction, but for fracture energy, it has decreased to about 70%. Finally, multi-objective optimization was done with the help of the NSGA-II method, and the Pareto front diagram drawn according to the problem's constraints to find the optimal values for fracture force and energy.

Effect of bonding area geometry on the behavior of composite single lap joints (SLJ) and estimation of adhesive properties using finite element method

ABSTRACT In this study, the mechanical behavior of Single Lap Joints (SLJ) subjected to tensile loading was investigated both experimentally and numerically by considering different SLJ sizes including adherend thickness (T:0.88, 1.76, 3.52 mm), joint width (W:10, 20, 30 mm), and overlap length (L:10, 20 mm). A polyurethane adhesive and carbon fiber composite adherends were used for the experimental activity. The experimental campaign was carried out to assess the effects of the SLJ geometry on the mechanical behavior of SLJ. Further, SLJ tests were used to estimate the fracture toughness in mode I and II by using Finite Element methods (FEM) coupled with optimization analysis. The results showed that all three parameters strongly change the load capacity of the joints. According to the Experiments, for every sample configuration, the higher the adherend thickness the higher the adhesive shear and the lower the substrate normal stresses. Moreover, the width showed negligible effect on adhesive shear and substrate normal stresses. Numerically, the effect of geometric parameters has been analyzed once at relative 25% of ultimate load and once at a fixed load for each sample. At 25% of ultimate load, it was observed that the increase in the joint width has nearly no significant effect on adhesive shear and peel stresses. However, at a fixed common load increasing L, W, and T resulted in a decrease in adhesive shear and peel stresses. A good agreement was found between the experimental and numerical results.

Experimental and numerical investigation on test methods for mode II fracture of composite‐titanium adhesively bonded structures

AbstractThe investigation on fracture test methods for dissimilar materials adhesively bonded structures is urgent. In this study, three mode II fracture test methods for composite‐titanium adhesively bonded structures are experimentally and numerically studied. A manual inverse fitting method is adopted to obtain accurate cohesive models, and sensitivity evaluation of test methods is comprehensively conducted. The results show that GII of the experimental end‐notched flexure (ENF) test is nearly 20% greater than end‐loaded split (ELS). The effect of friction can be ignored, while all methods are highly dependent on the adherend's thickness, especially the maximum deviation of ELS that is 23.74%. In addition, the condition that the adherend with smaller flexural stiffness places outside the bending direction should be avoided to achieve mode II dominant possibly. In summary, the ENF test method with span length of 100 mm and small adherend's thickness is recommended for the mode II fracture test of the dissimilar materials adhesively bonded structures.

Experimental Study on the Effect of Bonding Area Dimensions on the Mechanical Behavior of Composite Single-Lap Joint with Epoxy and Polyurethane Adhesives

The effects of joint geometry parameters, such as adherend thickness (1.76, 3.52 mm), joint width (10, 20, 30 mm), and overlap length (10, 20 mm), on the behavior of single-lap joints (SLJs) under tensile loading are investigated in this study. Peak force, joint stiffness, shear stress, and normal stress are the investigated properties. SLJs are manufactured with carbon fiber composite adherends and two different types of adhesives, polyurethane and epoxy, which present a flexible and rigid mechanical response. The results showed that increasing all 3 geometric parameters (L, W, T) leads to a significant increase in the load capacity of polyurethane joints (on average, 88.4, 101.5, and 16.9%, respectively). For epoxy joints, these increases were 47.7, 100, and 46%, respectively. According to these results, W is the parameter with the most influence on the load capacity of the joints. However, it was observed that an increase in joint width has no significant effect on adhesive shear and a substrate’s normal stresses. Epoxy SLJs behave approximately elastically until failure, while polyurethane SLJ load-displacement curves include an initial linear elastic part followed by a more ductile behavior before the failure. Joint stiffness is affected by all the parameters for both adhesive types, except for overlap length, which led to a negligible effect on epoxy joints. Moreover, the damage surfaces for both types of joints are analyzed and the internal stresses (shear and peel) are assessed by using the analytical model of Bigwood and Crocombe.

Experimental and numerical analysis of single-strap adhesive joints combining thin-walled steel and fast-growing natural timber

Fast-growing forests are widespread distribution, but the relevant timber products are limited by insufficient strength and low reliability in the architectural structure. In recent years, the combination of rapidly growing timber and thin-walled steel to enhance structural performance has attracted attention, and connection performance is critical in ensuring a compelling combination. In addition, adhesive technology has potential applications due to its high efficiency and lightweight. Nevertheless, in light construction, the adhesion behavior between thin-walled steel and largethickness timber with relatively low mechanical properties has yet to be effectively studied and revealed. This study investigates the bonding properties of thin-walled steel and fast-growing timber single-strap joints by numerical and experimental methods. The SS joints' shear strength and failure modes were obtained by tensile tests, considering different adhesive and overlap lengths. In addition, stress analysis was performed using the finite element method (FEM) combined with the cohesive zone model (CZM) to explore critical issues such as damage variables, peak stresses, etc. Furthermore, the parameters such as overlap, the thickness of adherends, and edge distance were investigated. As a result, it is concluded that the bond of thin-walled steel-fast-growing timber is a special non-balanced connection. The study indicates that shear stress distribution is steeper than other strap joints. The other difference is that the right end in overlapping areas may experience higher peel stress than the left ends, which might delaminate the timber. Yielding phenomena may also occur at such weak timber ends along the normal direction. The bearing capacity of these joints is susceptible to the difference in stiffness between timber and steel. Joint performance can be enhanced by increasing the timber thickness and overlap length appropriately. The summary obtained from this paper can be a reference for applying adhesive in thin-walled steel-fast-growing timber composite structure systems.

Critical Assessment of the Bonded Single Lap Joint Exposed to Cyclic Tensile Loading

Single shear or single lap joints are the most prevalent type of adhesive joints used in advanced engineering applications, where they are exposed to fatigue loadings in their services. Although their mechanical performances under static loading have been investigated extensively, the studies related to the fatigue performances were limited. For that purpose, single lap joints’ (SLJs) reaction to fatigue tensile loading was studied by varying the adherend thickness (3 mm to 6 mm) and fatigue load (3250 N to 1500 N). ABAQUS/Standard was used to create its advanced FE model. To represent the progressive damage in the adhesive layer, the fatigue damage model via the Paris Law, which links the rate of the crack expansion to the strain energy release rate (SERR), was integrated into the cohesive zone model with bi-linear traction–separation characteristics. The model was written in a UMAT subroutine. The developed model was validated using experimental data from the literature. The crack initiation cycle (Ni), the failure cycle (Nf), the fatigue load limit, the strain energy release rate, the crack propagation rate, and variation of stress components with their dependency to design parameters were investigated in depth. It was found that the service life of the SLJs with thicker adherends was more responsive to the amount of stress applied. When exposed to lesser loads, the SLJs’ life span changed more noticeably.

Prediction of failure load in flat-joggle-flat co-cured composite joints using artificial neural networks

The current research examines the impact of bonding angle, bonding width, and adherend thickness on the failure load of flat-joggle-flat (FJF) co-cured composite joints. The primary goal of this work is to use an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the failure load at the FJF joint. The experimental data was fed into the network, and the Colab tool was used to design and train the ANN network using a back-propagation algorithm. Experimental results revealed that, 8 mm to 12 mm adherend thickness, 25 mm adherend width, and a 10° to 15° bonding angle, gave maximum failure load. The ANN model estimated the predictive failure load with acceptable error. The results obtained from ANN, R2= 0.9803 for training andR2 = 0.9242 for testing the data, are within the acceptable error, so the experimental and ANN results are consistent and in good agreement.

Design Concepts for Peel-Dominant Adhesive Joints in Aeronautic Applications

The adhesive bonding technique is employed from the aeronautical/aerospace industry to current house products. To comply with the requirements of distinct applications, different joint configurations are available to the designer. While single-lap joints (SLJ) are the most common in application and research, double-lap joints, scarf joints and T-joints find specific applications. T-joints are seldom studied in the literature, but these are used, for instance, in aircraft to bond the stiffener beams to the skin, or in the cars between the B-pillar and the rocker. Due to the high stress concentrations, T-joints often fail under average stresses much lower than the adhesive strengths, giving rise to the necessity for proper design and strength improvement methodologies. This work initially aims to validate the cohesive zone modelling (CZM) technique with experiments, and then use it to numerically evaluate and optimize the performance of T-joints subjected to peel loads. CZM is nowadays regarded as the most powerful strength prediction tool for adhesive joints, and can be a valuable tool to improve T-joints. Different features are addressed for a complete analysis: adhesive type, geometrical parameters, dual-adhesive technique for strength improvement, and composite joints. The evaluated geometrical parameters are the base adherend thickness (a), T-part thickness (t), overlap or bonding length (l) and curvature radius (r). As a result of this work, the model was successfully validated, and clear design guidelines were provided to define the ideal geometric and material (adhesive) conditions for best performance.

Prediction of bonded asymmetric metallic cross-tension and single lap shear joints using finite element model with material-level adhesive properties and cohesive zone method

Predictive finite element (FE) models of adhesive joints are needed to enable the design and evaluation of adhesively joined structures, particularly large-scale structures that may be costly to assess experimentally. Although models calibrated to coupon-level tests have provided an important first-step, models based on material-level characterization are needed to enable joint assessment in complex modes of loading. In the present study, a structural epoxy adhesive was characterized using rigid double cantilever (Mode I) and bonded shear (Mode II) specimens to provide material-level input properties. Three single-lap shear (SLJ) and seven cross-tension (CT) specimen configurations were fabricated with aluminum and steel sheet materials. The specimens included symmetrical (the same adherend material and thickness) and asymmetrical (dissimilar adherend material or unequal thickness) configurations, with three loading angles (0°, 45°, 90°) for the CT specimens. Finite element models of the SLJ and CT specimens were developed using Cohesive Zone Modeling for the adhesive, with properties determined from the Mode I and Mode II characterization tests. The FE models of the SLJ and CT test specimens predicted the peak load within an average difference of 2%–19%. The joint strength varied between different test configurations, owing to adherend deformation, load eccentricity and mixed-mode loading. Importantly, the model parameters were not calibrated to the SLJ and CT tests. The FE models were able to predict joint response for varying test specimen geometry, adherend thickness, adherend material, and modes of loading.

Topology optimization of adhesively bonded double lap joints

Current studies show great, but unutilized potential for mechanical optimization of adhesively bonded joints. There are different approaches, e. g. mixed adhesive joints; tapered adherends or joints with spew fillets, all of which try to redistribute the stress peaks, occurring at the ends of adhesive layer overlap, in favor to the load capacity. However, these investigations fail to take a general approach to find optimal geometric solutions to the problem of joining two materials by means of adhesive bonding. Instead the geometry is changed by predefined parameters such as tapering angles, spew fillet radii or the number of adhesives in mixed adhesive joints. To allow a non-parametric optimization, this paper proposes and investigates an extended bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization methodology based on a failure criterion to account for othotropic materials, which are often used in the context of bonding. The optimized joint geometry, generated by the proposed algorithm, resulted in a fairly constant distribution of elemental failure probability compared to the non-optimized state, thus eliminating underutilized spots of material and increasing the efficiency of the connection. Furthermore the influence of different parameters such as the overlap-length to adherend thickness ratio; the stiffness between adherend and adhesive as well as the adherend degree of orthotropy were investigated for optimal joint geometry.