Adhesively Bonded Joints

It is commonly accepted that the majority of engineering failures happen due to fatigue or fracture phenomena. Adhesive bonding is a prevailing joining technique, widely used for critical connections in composite structures. However, the lack of knowledge regarding fatigue and fracture behaviour, and the shortage of tools for credible fatigue design, hinders the potential benefits of adhesively bonded joints. The demand for reliable and safe structures necessitates deep knowledge in this area in order to avoid catastrophic structural failures. This book reviews recent research in the field of fatigue and fracture of adhesively-bonded composite joints. The first part of the book discusses the experimental investigation of the reliability of adhesively-bonded composite joints, current research on understanding damage mechanisms, fatigue and fracture, durability and ageing as well as implications for design. The second part of the book covers the modelling of bond performance and failure mechanisms in different loading conditions.

Adhesively-bonded joints provide many advantages over conventional mechanical fasteners and are increasingly receiving attention as an alternative to mechanical joints in engineering applications. The traditional fasteners usually result in the cutting of fibers and hence the introduction of stress concentrations, both of which reduce structural integrity. By contrast, bonded joints are more continuous and have potential advantages of strength-to-weight ratio, design flexibility, and ease of fabrication. This book provides an overview of available analytical methods as well as numerical methods.

The intention of this book is that it should contain everything an engineer needs to know to be able to design and produce adhesively bonded joints which are required to carry significant loads. The advan tages and disadvantages of bonding are given, together with a sufficient understanding of the necessary mechanics and chemistry to enable the designer to make a sound engineering judgement in any particular case. The stresses in joints are discussed extensively so that the engineer can get sufficient philosophy or feel for them, or can delve more deeply into the mathematics to obtain quantitative solutions even with elasto plastic behaviour. A critical description is given of standard methods of testing adhesives, both destructively and non-destructively. The essen tial chemistry of adhesives and the importance of surface preparation are described and guidance is given for adhesive selection by me ans of check lists. For many applications, there will not be a unique adhesive which alone is suitable, and factors such as cost, convenience, produc tion considerations or familiarity may be decisive. A list of applications is given as examples. The authors wish to increase the confidence of engineers using adhesive bonding in load-bearing applications by the information and experience presented. With increasing experience of adhesives en gineering, design will become more elegant as weH as more fitted to its products.

A lot of recent developments have been made about adhesively bonded joints modeling using various methods of analysis. The increasing application of adhesives in industry is partly due to the increased sophistication and reliability of adhesive joints modeling. The book proposed intends to provide the designer with the most advanced stress analyses techniques in adhesive joints to reinforce the use of this promising bonding technique.

The book comprehensively charts a way for industry to employ adhesively bonded joints to make systems more efficient and cost-effective Adhesively bonded systems have found applications in a wide spectrum of industries (e.g., aerospace, electronics, construction, ship building, biomedical, etc.) for a variety of purposes. Emerging adhesive materials with improved mechanical properties have allowed adhesion strength approaching that of the bonded materials themselves. Due to advances in adhesive materials and the many potential merits that adhesive bonding offers, adhesive bonding has replaced other joining methods in many applications. Containing nine articles written by world-renowned experts, the book deals with the advances in theoretical and computational modeling as well as the design and experimental aspects of adhesively bonded structural systems. Stress analysis and strength prediction of adhesively bonded structural systems, considering a range of material models under a variety of loading conditions, are discussed. Finite element modeling using macro-elements is elaborated on. Recent developments in modeling and experimental aspects of bonded systems with graded adhesive layers and dual adhesives are described. Simulation of progressive damage in bonded joints is addressed. A novel vibration-based approach to detect disbonding and delamination in composite joints is also discussed. Readership The book is central to a range of engineers including mechanical, reliability, construction and surface engineers as well as materials scientists who are engaged in the mechanics of structural adhesive joints. Industries that will use this book include aerospace, electronics, biomedical, automotive, ship building, and construction.

This volume documents the proceedings of the International Symposium on Adhesive Joints: Formation, Characteristics and Testing held under the auspices of the Division of Polymer Mater ials:Science and Engineering of the American Chemical Society in Kansas City, MO, September 12-17, 1982. There is a myriad of applications (ranging from aerospace to surgery) where adhesives are used to join different materials, and concomitantly the understanding of the behavior of adhesive joints becomes very important. There are many factors which can influence the behavior of adhesive joints, e.g., substrate preparation, in terfacial aspects, joint design, mode of stress, external environ ment, etc., and in order to understand the joint behavior in a holistic manner, one must take due cognizance of all these germane factors. So this symposium was planned to address not only how to make acceptable bonds but their characterization, durability and testing were also accorded due consideration.

Joining techniques such as welding, brazing, riveting and screwing are used by industry all over the world on a daily basis. A further method of joining has also proven to be highly successful: adhesive bonding. Adhesive bonding technology has an extremely broad range of applications. And it is difficult to imagine a product - in the home, in industry, in transportation, or anywhere else for that matter - that does not use adhesives or sealants in some manner. The book focuses on the methodology used for fabricating and testing adhesive and bonded joint specimens. The text covers a wide range of test methods that are used in the field of adhesives, providing vital information for dealing with the range of adhesive properties that are of interest to the adhesive community. With contributions from many experts in the field, the entire breadth of industrial laboratory examples, utilizing different best practice techniques are discussed. The core concept of the book is to provide essential information vital for producing and characterizing adhesives and adhesively bonded joints.