Effects of bond parameters on fatigue characteristics of a cocured double lap joint subjected to cyclic tensile loads

Abstract

A cocured joint whose manufacturing process is simpler than that of an adhesively bonded joint is attractive for composite structures due to its several benefits. Fatigue behavior in the cocured joint is important because under alternating loads it will fail at stress levels much lower than it can withstand under monotonic loading. Although some researchers have recently reported on cocured joints, there are only a few articles published on the fatigue characteristics of cocured joints. In this article, effects of bond parameters on fatigue characteristics of a steel-composite cocured double lap joint under cyclic tensile loads were experimentally investigated. In order to observe stress distributions near the interface edge of the cocured double lap joint, finite element analysis was also performed. We considered the surface roughness of the steel adherend and the stacking sequence of the composite adherend as bond parameters. A fatigue failure mechanism of the cocured double lap joint was explained systematically by investigating the surfaces of failed specimens and stress distributions at the interface edge. Failure criteria of the cocured double lap joint under cyclic tensile loads were shown graphically.