Fracture Mechanics Modeling of Fatigue Behaviors of Adhesive-Bonded Aluminum Alloy Components

Abstract

Adhesive-bonding has become increasingly adopted for multi-material lightweight applications (e.g., automotive structures). There is a growing interest in understanding the fatigue behaviors in this type of joint for supporting structural durability modeling in practice. In this paper, an analytical fracture mechanics modeling procedure is presented in the context of a generalized sandwich specimen. Its closed form stress intensity factor solutions were then derived and applied for the correlating fatigue test data obtained from the lap-shear and coach-peel test specimens with demonstrated effectiveness. Some important implications of these analytical solutions on joint design are also discussed.