Strength of adhesively bonded stainless steel joints

An experimental study was conducted on the strength of adhesively bonded stainless steel joints, prepared with two epoxy and one acrylic adhesives. The mode I critical strain energy release rate, GIc, was measured in double cantilever beam (DCB) tests. Lap-shear tests were performed on various types of single-lap and double-lap joints. Finite element analyses were used to explain joint strength results. It was found that the strengths of epoxy adhesive joints depended mostly on the level of peel stresses near the bondline edges. When expressed in terms of effective overlaps, joint strengths were generally insensitive to the presence of defects created at the overlap ends.