An experimental study on the effect of overlap length on the failure of composite-to-aluminum single-lap bonded joints

Abstract

Carbon composite-to-aluminum single-lap adhesive joints with six different bonding lengths were tested under tension. The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship among the failure loads, modes, and bonding lengths of the joints. It is shown that the final failure modes of the joints are caused by delamination in the composite adherend, and that the delamination patterns vary depending on the bonding length. It was also observed that the failure loads are affected by the delamination patterns. The study's conclusion is that to achieve the maximum strength of the adhesive, the joints should be designed to have strong resistance to delamination.