Adhesive bonding
The need for joining
• Composites often offer a reduction in parts count, since more complex geometries can be manufactured than in other materials.
• However, separate manufacture and assembly may be more economic in some cases.
• Many processes have a clear size limitation.• Joining may required for access or
replacement.
Adhesive bonding
Advantages• Sealing as well as
joining.• Better in fatigue
loading.• Good damping. • Low weight penalty.
Disadvantages• Disassembly is
difficult/impossible.• Surface preparation
required.• Accurate assembly may
be required.• NDT difficult.• Possibly sensitive to
environment.
Mechanical fastening
Advantages• No surface
preparation.• Disassembly possible• Simple inspection.• Better for thick
sections.• No ‘chemistry’.
Disadvantages• High stress
concentration at hole.• Additional weight• Loss of smooth
surface.• Possible galvanic
corrosion.
Both types of joint result in stress concentrations:
fasteners in shear; local stress concentrations around hole
peel in adherends: shear and through-thickness tension in adhesive - highest at joint edges
Peeling stresses should be minimised, as composite laminates are weak in through-thickness tension:
W. Lees, Adhesives and the Engineer.
Basic bonded joint types
type form curetemp (oC)
maxservicetemp (oC)
advantages disadvantages
epoxy paste/liquid ambient 80-100 easy mixing;gap filling
low peelstrength;moderateenvironmentalresistance
paste/liquid up to 200 120-160 improvedenvironmentalresistance
film 120-170 120-180 controlledthickness;goodenvironmentalresistance
refrigeratedstorage; brittle
acrylic paste/liquid ambientorelevated
120-180 fast setting;goodenvironmentalresistance
limited pot life
poly-urethane
liquid ambientorelevated
80 high peelstrength; gapfilling
moisturesensitive
silicone paste ambient 260 high peelstrength; goodtoughness
poor shearstrength
Some common adhesive systems
How can the stress distribution in adhesive joints be modified?
• Increase the adhesive thickness
• Select adhesive with different modulus
• Increase joint length
• Modify adherend geometry
Reduction of adhesive shear stress with thicker adherends
Effect of adhesive mechanical properties on stress distribution
Asymmetric shear stress distribution with dissimilar adherends
Effect of adherend thickness on joint strength depends on geometry
F Matthews (ed), Joining of Fibre -Reinforced Plastics
Joint shear strength (MPa)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
reference joint small fillet large fillet taperedadherend with
fillet
Permabond, 2001
Design approaches - short term, static load:
• Maximum adhesive strain must not exceed strain to failure of the adhesive.
• Overlap length should be as small as possible (for structural efficiency).
• Strain should be constant across the joint length (to make best use of adhesive area).
• Maximum strain should not be sensitive to small changes in joint length.
Design approaches - long term, fatigue load:
• Non-uniform stress distribution is desirable.
• At edges, maximum adhesive strain must not exceed allowable strain value (in fatigue).- more than 50% of the joint length should be stressed below 10% of the elastic limit of the adhesive.
Eckold, Design and Manufacture of Composite Structures, Woodhead (1994)
Eckold, Design and Manufacture of Composite Structures, Woodhead (1994)
Eckold, Design and Manufacture of Composite Structures, Woodhead (1994)
General design considerations
• Shear and peel stresses are highest at the ends of the overlap, and a minimum in the centre of the joint.
• Shear stress is essentially constant along a scarf joint.
• Maximum stresses are reduced by:- using identical adherends- using highest possible laminate stiffness- using longest possible overlap- using low modulus adhesive
F. Matthews, in Handbook of Polymer Composites for Engineers
General design considerations
• Taper the adherends to reduce maximum peel stress.
• Calculate bond shear strength to be 50% above adherend strength (reserve for environmental and fatigue effects)
• Choose ductile adhesive (higher static and fatigue strength.
• Ensure that minimum adhesive shear stress < 10% of maximum (allows creep strains to recover)
General design considerations
• Use ‘homogeneous’ rather than ‘blocked’ laminate stacking sequence
• In fatigue, 106 cycles can be expected if peak stress < 25% of static strength (lap joints), or < 50% (scarf joints)
www.marinecomposites.com
www.marinecomposites.com
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