Numerical simulation of adhesively-bonded T-stiffeners by cohesive zone models

Nowadays, the adhesive bonding method has a strong presence in the most varied industries. The bonding of composite materials with structural adhesives became more relevant in the industry, such as the aeronautical industry, which takes advantage of stiffener structures in composite materials using adhesive bonds. In any area of industry, large-scale application of a particular bonding technique requires reliable tools for the design and prediction of failure. This work evaluates the performance of a structural adhesive (Araldite (R) 2015) on a T-stiffener with composite adherends composed of an epoxy matrix reinforced with carbon fibers. The aim of the work is to numerically study, by the Finite Element Method (FEM) and Cohesive Zone Models (CZM), the behavior of different T-stiffener configurations under peel loads. A parametric study was carried out, including elastic stress analysis and maximum load (P-m) prediction, considering four geometrical parameters: flat adherend thickness (t(p)), stiffener thickness (t(0)), overlap length (L-O) and curved deltoid radius (R). A significant effect was found for all studied parameters, on both stress distributions and P-m, enabling to define the optimal joint parameters for the T-stiffeners. (C) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.