Finite-element analysis of SHPB tests on double-lap adhesive joints

Adhesively bonded assemblies are in increasing use in multiple engineering applications. However, they can endure impact loads. The measurement, of these assemblies mechanical behaviour, under dynamic loads is of great concern. Several works used the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) method to assess the strength of adhesive joints at high loading rates. In this paper, we investigated the accuracy of SHPB tests on double-lap bonded joints by three-dimensional finite-element analysis. For this analysis, an elastic behaviour is assumed for both adherends and adhesive. We were interested in the influence of material, geometrical and dynamic parameters on the SHPB accuracy. From this study, we can conclude that the SHPB bar method gives a good estimation of the mean adhesive stress value. However, its estimation, to the mean adhesive strain and to the maximum adhesive stress and strain, is rather bad. A unified parameter is therefore proposed to help designing specimens and to correct the SHPB results.