On the strength and interfacial properties of square wave joints with defects and mismatches

ABSTRACT

In the present paper, the strength and interfacial properties of square-wave joints under tension are analyzed. By using the bilinear cohesive zone model, three main factors in practice, including geometric parameters, preexisting defects and mismatches, are considered. It is found that the strength and fracture toughness of the joints can be improved by proper adjustment of geometric parameters of the joint. What is more, the length of defect has a great influence on the mechanical properties of the adhesive joints, different from the defect’s location. Compacting adherends tightly during glue consolidation, making the bonding part as symmetrical as possible and introducing some protuberances on square-wave plug are found to be helpful to improve the joints’ mechanical behavior. The findings should be useful for the design of square-wave joints and the assessment of mechanical properties of adhesive joints in practical and potential applications.

KEYWORDS:

• Square-wave joint
• adhesive joint
• defect
• mismatch
• CZM

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of NSFC (No. 11972363) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 2019XKQYMS40). Peijian Chen thanks the support of China Scholarship Council for a Visiting Scholarship in Harvard University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China: [Grant Number 11972363] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities: [Grant Number 2019XKQYMS40].