Experimental investigation of the effect of adhesive thickness in adhesive joints under static and impact loading

This paper presents an experimental study on the effect of adhesive thickness on the maximum load of adhesive joints under static and impact loading, using the double cantilever beam (DCB) test method. The DCB specimens were prepared with varying adhesive thicknesses and subjected to impact loading using a drop weight impact tester. The maximum load was recorded for each specimen. The results indicated that the maximum load of the adhesive joints increases with increasing adhesive thickness up to 5 mm, beyond which the maximum load decreases with further increase in adhesive thickness. Moreover, the failure mode of the adhesive joint was found to be strongly dependent on the adhesive thickness, with thicker adhesive layers exhibiting an adhesive failure mode but in thinner thicknesses, the adhesive mode is cohesive. These findings provide important insights into the design and optimization of adhesive joints for applications that are subject to impact loading.