Static and Fatigue Characterization of Adhesive T-Joints Involving Different Adherends

It is very important to understand the damage mechanisms as well as the mechanical response of T-joints involving different materials on the base plate. For this purpose, two configurations were studied. In one, the joint is composed of a base plate and a T-element, both in Al 6063-T5, while in the other one, the aluminum base plate was replaced by a glass fiber composite. Finally, each configuration was divided into two batches, where in one, the elements were bonded with a stiff adhesive (Araldite (R) AV 4076-1/HY 4076) while in the other, a more ductile adhesive (Araldite (R) AW 106/HV 953 U) was used. The static and fatigue strength of all configurations was evaluated in bending. In all cases, the damage occurred at the end of the T-element, where a crack appeared and propagated toward the interior of the T-joint. The bending strength is highest for joints involving aluminum and the ductile adhesive, which is 2.8 times higher than the same configuration involving composite base plates and 1.7 times higher than that using the stiff adhesive. Finally, the highest fatigue lives were obtained for T-joints involving Al 6063-T5 base plates, and regardless of the base plate material, the ductile adhesive promoted the highest fatigue strength.