The need for lightweight components and non-destructive fastening techniques has led to the growth of adhesive use in many industries. Modeling the behavior of adhesives in fastening joints can help in the design process to make an optimized joint. To optimize joints in the design process, the loading conditions, environmental conditions of service, thickness of bond, and bonding procedures all need to be refined for the adhesive of interest. However, in available technical data sheets of adhesives provided by manufactures there is a gap in what is sufficient to accurately model and predict the behavior of real-world adhesive conditions. This body of research presents the results of the effects of temperature, thickness, and working time on adhesive properties. These effects can be observed with test specimens from the loading modes of interest. The loading modes of interest are mode I and mode II loading for the current study. The specimen for mode I loading is the Double Cantilever Beam, and for mode II loading is the Shear Loaded Dual Cantilever Beam. The effect of temperature will be tested by testing each specimen at −20°C, 20°C, and 40°C. Two bond thicknesses for adhesive thickness effects were tested. The working time had a control group bonded in the recommended working time and an expired working time group where the specimens were not joined until 10 minutes had passed from the recommended working time. Triplicates of each specimen at the respective conditions were tested. The adhesive selected for this research was Plexus MA832. The results of the experiment show that adhesive factors such as temperature, thickness, and working time can have degrading effects on adhesive performance in mode I and mode II.
Fracture Behavior of Carbon-Epoxy under Different Loading