Failure analysis of adhesively bonded joints in composite materials

The present paper is concerned with a phenomenological model to perform the failure analysis of composite adhesive single lap joints with arbitrary glued area. The theory is conceived for joints composed by highly resistant elastic adherends bonded with brittle–elastic adhesives. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the rupture forces (in the case of monotonic loading) and lifetimes (in the case of cyclic loading) of two joints with different glued areas can be correlated using a shape factor. Results from experimental static and fatigue testing of joints with carbon/epoxy laminates bonded with epoxy adhesive and different bonding areas are compared with model prediction showing a good agreement.