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The aim of this research was to develop an experimental–numerical approach to characterize the effect of constant loading coupled with elevated temperature on epoxy bulk adhesive and to predict the stress degradation of bulk adhesive specimen under 15% and 25% tensile failure loads for the automotive industry. A power-law creep model was built to simulate the effect of temperature and loading on adhesive mechanical behavior, and the related strength degradation simulation has also been implemented using a creep strain-dependent ductile damage model. Experiments were conducted on bulk adhesive specimens under constant temperature coupled with mechanical load, and the corresponding experimental results provided creep parameters for the simulation procedure as well as effective validation with the numerical results in this study. The results obtained from experiments and numerical simulations were also in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research was to develop an experimental–numerical approach to characterize the effect of salt spray environment on adhesively bonded joints and predict the degradation in joint strength. Experiments were conducted on bulk adhesive specimens and single lap joints (SLJs) under salt spray condition and the corresponding experimental results were reported. The environment degradation factor, Deg, was incorporated into a bilinear cohesive zone model (CZM) to simulate the degradation process of the joints. The degraded CZM parameters, determined from static tests on bulk adhesive, were imported into the CZM using an approximate moisture concentration gradient approach. The reduction in residual strength of SLJ under salt spray environment was successfully predicted through comparing the experimental and numerical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]