Destructive testing of adhesively bonded joints under static tensile loading

Several in-situ testing methods of adhesively bonded joints under static short-time tensile loading are critically analyzed in terms of experimental procedure and data evaluation. Due to its rather homogeneous stress state across the glue line, the tensile-shear test with thick single-lap specimens, according to ISO 11003-2, has become the most important test process for the determination of realistic materials parameters. This basic method, which was improved in both, the experimental part by stepped adherends and easily attachable extensometers and the evaluation procedure by numeric substrate deformation correction and test simulation based on the finite element method (FEM), is therefore demonstrated by application to several kinds of adhesives and metallic adherends. Multi-axial load decreases the strength of a joint. This effect, which is illustrated by an experimental comparison, impedes the derivation of realistic mechanical characteristics from measured force-displacement curves. It is shown by numeric modeling that tensile-shear tests with thin plate substrates according to ISO 4587, which are widely used for quick industrial quality assurance, reveal an inhomogeneous stress state, especially because of relatively large adherend deformation. Complete experimental determination of the elastic properties of bonded joints requires independent measurement of at least two characteristics. As the thick-adherend tensile-shear test directly yields the shear modulus, the tensile butt-joint test according to ISO 6922 represents the most obvious complement of the test programme. Thus, validity of analytical correction formulae proposed in literature for the derivation of realistic materials characteristics is verified by numeric simulation. Moreover, the influence of the substrate deformation is examined and a FEM correction method introduced.