Characterisation of moisture-dependent cohesive zone properties for adhesively bonded joints

Structural adhesives are being widely used in the aerospace and automobile industries. However, in many applications, aggressive environments damage the adhesive systems and degrade the structural performance of bonded members. Cohesive zone models are often employed in the numerical analysis of adhesively bonded structural joints. To accurately model these bonded joints, the characterisation of the cohesive zone properties for different environmental conditions is important. In this regard, an experimental–numerical approach was developed to characterise the environment-dependent cohesive zone properties based on a miniature cantilever peel test. As moisture is a commonly encountered aggressive environment, the current methodology was implemented to characterise the moisture-dependent cohesive zone properties for an Al 2024-T3 and FM73 system.