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Mixed numerical/experimental variability analysis of viscoelastic behaviour of adhesively bonded joints

Book Contribution - Book Chapter Conference Contribution

The evolution in adhesive bonding technology is characterised by a continuously improving mechanical performance. Therefore this joining technique is used in various industrial applications, even for critical joints. However, in case of dynamic loads, dynamic load amplitudes which are applied to the adhesive (joint) itself usually remain low. Up to now most research activities concerning dynamically loaded adhesively bonded joints deal with the more brittle structural adhesive types like epoxies. The research which is presented in this paper focuses on the application of tougher adhesives which are characterised by a rather low tensile strength but high elongation at fracture. Adhesively bonded joints using MS – polymer (modified silane) adhesives have very distinct advantages regarding noise and vibration damping in comparison to traditional joining techniques. Several research publications propose rheological models that describe and validate the fundamental viscoelastic behaviour of viscoelastic (adhesive) material types. The real – life structural elastic behaviour of an adhesively bonded joint depends on several different parameters like the adhesive type, the geometry of the bonding layer, ageing effects and many more. These factors bring about a significant degree of uncertainty to the mechanical performance of the joint. Very few research publications cover uncertainty quantification of the elastic behaviour of adhesively bonded joints. This paper describes part of an extensive research project in the field of durability estimation of structural elastic adhesively bonded joints, used in structures which are subjected to dynamic loads. The first part of the paper gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art theoretical models that are suited for an adequate finite element analysis of viscoelastic adhesive materials. A second section validates the applied numerical model through a series of uniform quasi-static shear and tensile load experiments on simple bonded joints. The paper focusses on the variability of the obtained experimental results and the relation with underlying parameters of the bonded joint and bonding process. The third section discusses the observations with respect to dynamic behaviour of simple bonded joints. Here again, the key issue is variability on dynamic stiffness and damping properties. In the process of uncertainty quantification, adequate finite elements play an important role.
Book: AB2015
Publication year:2015
Accessibility:Closed