Abstract
A fracture-mechanics approach has been used to predict the cyclic-fatigue performance of the adhesively-bonded single-lap joint and a typical bonded component, represented by an adhesively-bonded `top-hat' box-beam joint. The joints were tested under cyclic-fatigue loading in either a `wet' or `dry' environment, respectively. Several steps were needed to predict the cyclic-fatigue lifetime of these joints. Firstly, fracture-mechanics tests were used to obtain the relationship between the rate of fatigue crack growth per cycle, da/dN, and the maximum strain-energy release-rate, G max, applied during the fatigue cycle for the adhesive/substrate system under investigation, in both a `dry' and a `wet' test environment. Secondly, analytical and finite-element theoretical models were developed to describe the variation of the strain-energy release-rate with crack length, as a function of the applied fatigue loads, for the single-lap joint and the `top-hat' box-beam joint. Thirdly, the experimental results from the short-term fracture-mechanics tests, obtained under similar test conditions and in the same environment as were used for the single-lap or bonded box-beam joints, were combined with the modelling results from the theoretical studies. This enabled the cyclic-fatigue performance of the single-lap or bonded box-beam joints to be predicted over relatively long time-periods. Finally, the agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimentally-measured cyclic-fatigue behaviour for the joints was found to be very good.
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Curley, A., Hadavinia, H., Kinloch, A. et al. Predicting the service-life of adhesively-bonded joints. International Journal of Fracture 103, 41–69 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007669219149
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007669219149