Xiao Ling Zheng

Failure Analysis of Adhesively Bonded Single Lap Joints Embedded with Metal Component as Part of Fillet

In order to understand the effects of the metal components embedded in adhesive fillets on the strength of adhesively bonded single lap joint, the failed surfaces were studied with diagrams of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer. The stress distribution along the length of the bondline of single lap steel joints was also studied with an elasto-plastic finite element analysis (FEA) model to understand its effect in the view of mechanics. The SEM images and the FT-IR spectra diagrams revealed that the failure in the interface was primarily mixture mode with fillets and they also presented the interface strength being higher and there were more polar links formed in the adhesive fillets with metal components. The result obtained from the numerical modeling is in compliance with it from experiment that the stress distributed in lap zone of the joint is gentler when a couple of steel wires embedded in fillet.

3-D Finite Element Analysis of Bonded Joints under Impact Loading

The effect of the adhesive thickness and elastic modulus on the stress distribution in the mid-bondline of the adhesively-bonded steel/steel joint under impact loading is analyzed using 3-D finite element method (FEM). The results show that the stress distributed in bondline near the interface was significantly affected by the adhesive thickness and the elastic modulus. When the thickness increased from 1 mm to 2 mm, the values of all the stress components increased evidently along the upper edge of the adhesive but decreased significantly along the lower edge near the loading face. When the elastic modulus of the adhesive was increased, all the stresses increased along either the upper or the lower edge. It is clear that the suitable thickness and the elastic modulus of the adhesive are very important when the adhesively bonded joints subjected to the impacting load.

Effect of Recessing Length in Adhesive Layer on the Cleavage Joints

The elastic finite element analysis (FEA) and the experimental method of testing the cleavage strength of the joint were used to investigate the effect of the recessing as well as its length on the stress distribution in both the mid-bondline and the adherend near the interface along the bondline of adhesively bonded steel cleavage joint. The results from the FEA simulation showed that the peak values of the stresses distributed in the mid-bondline were nearly the same when the length of the arranged recessing was not greater than 10 mm except that the shear stress Sxy was increased a little when the length of the recessing was increased. For the normal stress Sy near the interface of the joint with a 16 mm length recessing, the peak stress in the adherend is about 49% higher than the one in the adhesive at the left edge of the joint. And it is supported with the results from the experiments that the ultimate load of the steel-to-steel cleavage joint decreased a little when the gap length was less than 10 mm.

Effect of Adhesive Thickness on the Impact Toughness of Butt-Joints

The effect of the adhesive thickness on the impact toughness of the adhesively bonded steel joint under impact loading is studied using the experimental method. The results obtained show that the impact toughness increases when the adhesive thickness increased then it decrease as the adhesive thickness increase. When the curing time is set as a constant, the higher the curing temperature is, the lower the impact toughness of the joint. The optimum thickness of the adhesive layer for the specimen of impact toughness test cured at 60 C for 1 h is 0.6 mm and it is 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm for the specimen cured 1 h at temperature of 90 C or higher than it. It is recommended using the notched specimen to decrease the testing deviation.

The Effect of Adhesive for Fillet on Stress in Weld-Bonded Joints

The influence of the fillet with different elastic modulus on the stress distributed in weld-bonded aluminum alloy single lap joint was investigated using elasto-plastic finite element method. The results show that the peak values of the stress along the mid-bondline at the points near the fillet edge were increased as the elastic modulus of the fillet increased. But at points near the both ends of the adherend in over lap zone as well as in the region of the nugget the peak stresses were decreased except longitudinal stress Sx. The peak value of Seqv decreased first, and then it increased again as the elastic modulus in fillet increased. The load-bearing capacity of the whole weld-bonded joints may be improved for the fillet with Adhesive B (825 MPa) for the relative high stress region in nugget was wider and the stress distribution in overlap zone was more uniform.

A FEM Study on Thermal Stress in Laminated Composite

The 3-D elasto-plastic finite element method (FEM) was used to analyze the thermal stress in the laminated composite (SiC/6061Al) under the condition of a temperature cycling of 200 0C-30 0C- 200 0C-30 0C. The results from the FEM analysis showed that the hysteretic peak value of the von Mises equivalent stress in the substrate 6061Al was increased significantly as the temperature loading cycles processed on but it was nearly the same after the first cycle in the interface layer SiC of the laminated composite. The elastic strain in the substrate 6061Al varied within the range of -0.15% to 0.15% and the maximum plastic deformation was equal to about 0.26 %. The results also showed that the maximum normal stress Sx was increased from 32.8 MPa to 87.9 MPa after ten cycles and the work-hardening of the substrate 6061Al occurred during the stress and strain hysteresis loop.

Testing and Analysis of the Inner Stress in Adhesive Coating Layer Using Strain Gauges and Finite Element Method

The residual stress in epoxy adhesive layer deposited on metal and other substrate at room temperature is studied. With embedded strain gauges in arranged depth of epoxy layer, the strain changes in the adhesive layer induced by the curing procedure and the changes of ambient temperature were measured to evaluate the changes of residual stress in place during a period after the curing procedure finished. The actual strain in epoxy adhesive layer from curing is used to estimate the residual stresses in it. While taking the strain obtained from the surface of the adhesive layer as free strain, the residual stress can be calculated and presented a strongly cyclic variation with a period of 24 h. The inner stress is also analyzed using the finite element method.

Effect of Notch Depth on the Butt-Joint under Izod Impact Test with Material Properties and Mechanics Analysis

The effect of the notch depth on the impact toughness of the adhesively bonded steel butt joint under Izod impact test is studied using both the finite element method and experimental method. The results obtained from numerical simulation showed that the response time with the peak stress Seqv occurred becomes little longer when the notch depth increased from 2 mm to 8 mm. And a negative longitudinal stress occurred when there is an 8 mm depth notch which might be beneficial to subject impact load. The results from the experiments showed that the effect of notch depth is evidently on the Izod impact properties. The impact energy absorbed by unit area of joint is increased as the notch depth increase

Numerical Analysis on the Butt-Joint under Izod Impact Test

The effect of the adhesive thickness on the impact toughness of the adhesively bonded steel butt joint during Izod impact test and the failure procedure is studied using the finite element method software ABAQUS. The results obtained show that the time with the peak stress Seqv occurred is corresponding to the element failure. And much higher peak stress might be subjected by the element near the bottom of the joint under impact load. The failure time of the element becomes little longer when the adhesive layer thickness increased from 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm. But the peak value of the Seqv decreases and the damage limit of the strain increased evidently as the adhesive thickness increased from 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm.

Effect of Metal Block on Stress Distribution in Weld-Bonded Steel Joint

The effect of metal block as the fillet on the stress distributed in weld-bonded single lap steel joint was investigated using elasto-plastic finite element method (FEM). The results from the numerical simulation showed that it is beneficial when the joints with a couple of right triangle metal block were adhered to both ends of the over lap. It is advantageous of reducing the peak stress in the adhesive layer near the ends of the lap zone in weld-bonded single lap steel joints so that the stress distribution in overlap zone was improved. The load-bearing capacity of the weld-bonded single lap steel joints may be elevated. There is no evidential difference in the effects between the steel and aluminum block.