Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Adhesively Bonded Curved Lap Joints under Three-Point Bending

In this study, the curved type joint model, which is an alternative to conventional joint models, was developed and subjected to three-point bending moment by increasing the radius of curvature of the joint. The radius of curvature of the curved lap joint under three-point bending moment was increased, and its effects on strength were investigated. Furthermore, a three-dimensional non-linear finite element analysis of the joint model was performed using the generalized Drucker-Prager yield criterion. Verification tests were performed to verify the numerical solutions obtained by the non-linear finite element method. For this purpose, curved surfaces with radii of r=100, 300, 500 mm were formed on AA 2024-T3 aluminum sheets with a thickness of 6.5 mm, and they were bonded with DP410 acrylic structural adhesive. In accordance with the numerical and experimental results, the radius of curvature was observed to have significant effects on damage load and stress distribution in curved lap joints under three-point bending moment.