A Fracture Mechanics Approach to Characterizing Cyclic Debonding of Varied Thickness Adhesive Joints to Electroprimed Steel Surfaces

Applications of adhesive bonding for automotive structures have been increasing in recent years due to improvements in the types of adhesives available and in improved knowledge of bonding procedures. Consequently, there exists a demand for design techniques to assess the influence of bondline thickness on adhesive joint strength. One design approach currently being used is based on limiting shear stresses in the adhesive while designing to eliminate peel stresses. Another design approach is based on fracture mechanics and accounts for shear and peel stresses and both static and fatigue modes of failure. The present study applies fracture mechanics to investigate the mixed-mode response of cracked-lap-shear (CLS) joints bonded with unprimed and electroprimed steel surfaces. Three bondline thicknesses equal to 0.254, 0.813, and 1.27 mm were evaluated for unprimed and primed bondlines. For the experimental portion of the study, debond growth rates (da/dN) were measured using a remote imaging system over a range of applied cyclic loads. Corresponding changes in the strain release rates (ΔG) were calculated, through finite element analyses, as a function of debond length and applied load level. The computations for ΔG applied a finite element formulation to determine both the peel component, ΔGi, and the shear component, ΔGii. When computed ΔG values were plotted against the measured debond growth rates, da/dN, the results showed a power law relationship which characterizes the debond behavior of a given material system and bondline thickness.