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Article history: A theoretical model is developed for the stress analysis in adhesive-bonded single-lap joints under
Accepted 26 February 2011 tension, for which the two adherends could have different thicknesses and consist of different
Available online 9 March 2011 materials. A two-dimensional (2D) elasticity theory is adopted in the analysis, which simultaneously
Keywords: incorporates the complete strain–displacement and the complete stress–strain relationships for the
Stress analysis adherends and adhesive. The approach provides a unified treatment for any possible adhesive layer
Lap-shear flexibility and capable of satisfying the stress-free condition at the ends of the bondline. An explicit
Analytical stress analysis closed-form analytical solution is formulated for upper and lower adherends/adhesive stresses (strains)
Simple formulae and tensile, shear and bending loads acting on the adherends along the overlap and then simplified for
Unbalanced joint
practical applications, and simple design formulae for adhesive stresses are produced. The results
predicted by the present full and simplified solutions were compared with the previously theoretical
solution by Bigwood and Crocombe (1989) [35], and the 2D geometrically nonlinear finite element
model using MSC/NASTRAN. The agreement validates the present formulation and solutions for
unbalanced bonded joints. The effects of the stiffness unbalanced parameters on the adhesive stress
distributions were also discussed.
& 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
0143-7496/$ - see front matter & 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijadhadh.2011.03.002
B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445 435
researchers [9–15,19] over the ensuing six decades; most notably complexity in such sandwich structure [26,30–32]. Bigwood and
Hart-Smith [9]. Refs. [5,10,19–21] evaluated various theories, and Crocombe [35] (called the B–C solution) derived the simple design
resolved some controversies and inconsistencies between the expressions of unbalanced single-lap joints through the treatment
theories. of ignoring the coupling between the shear and peel adhesive
In practice, adhesive-bonded joints can have a small amount of stresses. Recently, Wang and Zhang [30] developed a three-
material, which squeezes out of the bondline during manufactur- parameter, elastic foundation model where the interfacial adhe-
ing. When this excess material remains and is allowed to cure, it sive peel stress can be predicted and the G–R type models’ violation
is referred to as a spew-fillet, and an adhesive layer without of the equilibrium condition of adhesive layer is removed. Refs.
spew-fillets is referred to as a square-end. Spew-fillets have been [4,16,17,27,31–34] investigated the case of composite adherends and
predicted analytically, numerically and experimentally to have a recently, Luo and Tong [16,17] considered the geometrically non-
beneficial effect on the failure strength of adhesive-bonded linear effect of composite adherends. The authors presented the 2D
joints [4,22–25]. It was suggested that the G–R model reasonably explicit closed-form analytical solutions of adhesive-bonded single-
predict the stress state in the adherend overlap region of a spew lap joints [1] where the treatment was limited to balanced joints due
filleted adhesive layer from these studies. Thus, although they to the overwhelming complexity of obtaining exact closed-form
may have the inability to satisfy zero shear stress condition at the solutions in the case of unbalanced joints. The derivation in this
free edges of the adhesive layer, the G–R type models are still study follows the same assumptions as Ref. [1], considering that the
used by some researchers [5]. adhesive shear stress remains constant across the thickness of the
However, the situation is more complicated if the spew-fillets adhesive layer to obtain closed-form analytical expressions for
are absent. It has been demonstrated from analytical solu- unbalanced single-lap joints [4,5,26].
tions [1,4–8] that a square-ended configuration gives rise to To our best knowledge, it seems that 2D theoretical models of
severe shear stress gradients and peel stress peaks in the vicinity unbalanced joints reported in the literature have less attempts to
of the traction free edges. One of the major limitations of the G–R provide an explicit closed-form solution including the stress,
model and its descendants is the inability to strictly satisfy the strain and in-plane load distributions, and such a solution can
boundary condition of zero shear stress at the free edges of the be followed and implemented conveniently by other researchers.
adhesive layer. According to their analysis, the maximum shear The objective of this investigation is to extend our previous
stress occurs at both ends of the joint instead of actually studies and to derive the full and simple design expressions for
disappearing there. This unavoidably has adverse effects on the elastic stresses in the unbalanced adhesive bonded single-lap
distribution of the maximum adhesive stresses, which are highly joints. It is based on 2D elasticity theory, which simultaneously
responsible for joint failure. Although spew-fillets are frequently includes the complete strain–displacement and the complete
present in real structures, it is more conservative to use the stress–strain relationships for the adherends and adhesive layer.
square end adhesive layer idealization for design purposes, as this Then, through the use of displacement continuity conditions at
has been shown to be the worst case scenario for the peak the interfaces between the adhesive and adherends, an explicit
adhesive stresses [5]. This deficiency was overcome to some extent closed-form solution was obtained that is capable of satisfying the
in Refs. [4–8,26–29]; however, their final numerical solutions are zero shear stress condition at the adhesive free edges. The results
cumbersome and difficult to apply in practical situations. predicted by the present full and simplified solutions were com-
Another major drawback of the G–R type models is that the pared with the previously theoretical solution by Bigwood and
adhesive shear and peel stresses in those theories were generally Crocombe (B–C solution), and the 2D geometrically nonlinear finite
assumed to be uniform across the thickness. However, it is element (FE) model using MSC/NASTRAN. The agreement noted
indicated that adherend failure modes are closely related to the validates the present formulation and solutions for unbalanced
magnitude of the through thickness adhesive peel stresses at the bonded joints. Finally, the effects of the stiffness unbalanced para-
adhesive/adherend interfaces, and an interfacial peel stress near meters on the adhesive stress distributions were also discussed.
the ends of the adhesive layer is critical to evaluating the
potential of debonding and predicting where the debonding can
initiate [5,30]. Furthermore, there is a trend towards the use of 2. Mathematical formulation
substantially thick bond layers (up to 4 mm), for which there is
little data available about the performance of the structure [14]. The 2.1. Equilibrium equations
shear stress in Refs. [12,14] and peel stress in Refs. [4–6,14,15,26,
28,30] were allowed to vary through the thickness of the adhesive, Consider two adherends with the thicknesses of t1 and t2
respectively. bonded together in a single-lap adhesive bonded joint configura-
On the other hand, the connection of two dissimilar adherends tion (see Fig. 1) by an adhesive layer with a thickness of t3. The
is one of the most significant advantages for adhesive bonded length of the overlap region of the two adherends is 2l and the
joints, and the literature with an explicit closed-form solution of non-overlap region length is donated as L. The joint is assumed to
unbalanced adhesive joints is very limited [26–38]. The analysis have a unit width in a direction perpendicular to the (x, y)-plane.
for this kind of unbalanced joint problem is more general and The two unjoined ends of the adherends are simply supported
complicated than that of the balanced joints. However, an explicit and acted on by the tensile load F. The free body diagrams of
formulation is usually difficult to obtain due to the mathematical an infinitesimal element in the overlap region are shown in
Fig. 2(a) and (b). The subscripts 1, 2 and 3 denote the upper adherends six (i¼1, 2) may be assumed to vary linearly with the
adherend, lower adherend and adhesive, respectively. Then, let Ei, corresponding transverse coordinate yi (i ¼1, 2), respectively, i.e.,
Gi and mi (i¼1, 2, 3) be the Young’s modulus, shear modulus and
six ¼ fi =ti þ 6Mi ð2ri 1Þ=ti2 , t3 ¼ t3 ðxÞ ¼ tm ðxÞ, ð3Þ
Poisson’s ratio of the three individual components in the joint,
and (six, siy, ti) (i¼1, 2, 3), their stress components, respectively. where 0ryi rti, ri ¼yi/ti (i¼1, 2). From the 2D elasticity theory,
For convenience, three local coordinate systems, xOy1, xOy2 and these stress components should satisfy the equations of equili-
xOy3, were introduced, where the origins of y1 and y2 were brium:
located at their upper surfaces of the upper and lower adherends, @six @ti @siy @ti
respectively, and the origin of y3 was located in the middle plane þ ¼ 0, þ ¼ 0, ði ¼ 1,2,3Þ: ð4Þ
@x @y @y @x
of the adhesive layer. Let su3y and sl3y be the peel stresses at the
upper and lower interfaces of the adhesive, and fi, Qi and Mi (i ¼1, Substituting Eq. (3) into Eq. (4) and introducing Eqs. (1) and
2, 3) be the tensile force, shear force and bending moment of the (2), the shear stress components generated by the integration are
three individual components in the joint, respectively. Qi and Mi identified by imposing the conditions of continuity of stress at the
(i¼1, 2) are the shear force and bending moment in the upper and interfaces between the adhesive and adherend, and the stress-
lower adherends acting at the end of the joint, respectively, with free conditions on the top and bottom surfaces of the joint. Then
the positive sign convention shown in Fig. 2. The values of Qi and one obtains
(
Mi (i ¼1, 2) in the unbalanced joints can be obtained from Cheng t1 ¼ t3 ð3r21 2r1 Þ6Q1 =t1 ðr21 r1 Þ,
et al. [26]. From the equilibrium equations of the adhesive, M3 ¼0, ð5Þ
t2 ¼ t3 ð3r22 4r2 þ 1Þ6Q2 =t2 ðr22 r2 Þ:
Q3 ¼ t3t3 and f3 ¼ s3xt3 can be derived.
By referring to Fig. 2(b), the global equilibrium equations and Similarly, substituting Eq. (5) into Eq. (4), the peel stresses in
boundary conditions can be obtained: the adherends and adhesive yield
8 8
df1
>
>
> þ t3 ¼ 0, df 2
t3 ¼ 0, >
> s1y ¼ ddxt3 t1 ðr31 þ r21 Þ þ su3y ð2r31 þ 3r21 Þ,
< dx dx >
<
dQ1 u dQ2 l d t3 u l
dx þ s3y ¼ 0, dx s3y ¼ 0, dx t 3 ðs3y s3y Þ ¼ 0, ð1Þ s2y ¼ ddxt3 t2 ðr32 þ 2r22 r2 Þ þ sl3y ð2r32 3r22 þ 1Þ, ð6Þ
>
> >
>
> dM
: 1 Q þ t 1 ¼ 0,t dM 2 t
Q þ t 2 ¼ 0, > s ¼ su dt3 t ðr þ0:5Þ,
:
dx 1 3 2 dx 2 3 2 3y 3y dx 3 3
(
x ¼ l : M1 ¼ M1 , Q1 ¼ Q1 , f1 ¼ F, M2 ¼ Q2 ¼ f2 ¼ t3 ¼ 0, where 0 r ri r1 (i¼1, 2), 0.5r r3 (¼ y3/t3)r0.5.
ð2Þ It can be seen from Eqs. (5) and (6) that the shear stress
x¼l : M2 ¼ M2 , Q2 ¼ Q2 , f2 ¼ F, M1 ¼ Q1 ¼ f1 ¼ t3 ¼ 0:
distribution in the adherends is quadratic, and the peel stress is
The adhesive shear stress is assumed constant (tm) through cubic through the thickness. From the third one of Eq. (6), the
the thickness [5], and the longitudinal normal stresses in the adhesive peel stress at the middle plane (r3 ¼0), sm, at the upper
interface (r3 ¼ 0.5), su3y , and at the lower interface (r3 ¼0.5), sl3y ,
can be easily obtained, then the interfacial peel stresses su3y and
sl3y can be rewritten as
dtm t3 dtm t3
su3y ¼ sm þ , sl3y ¼ sm : ð7Þ
dx 2 dx 2
Let ei, gi, ui and vi (i¼1, 2, 3) be the normal and shear strain and
the longitudinal and transverse displacement, respectively. The
state of plane stress is assumed for convenience here. When a
plane strain state is considered, Ei and mi should be replaced with
Ei =ð1-m2i Þ and mi/(1 mi)(i¼1, 2, 3). The stress–strain equations of
the adhesive and the adherends can be written as
ti
gi ¼ ði ¼ 1,2,3Þ, ð8Þ
Gi
@vi
siy ¼ Ei þ mi six ¼ Ei eiy þ mi six ði ¼ 1,2Þ, ð9Þ
@yi
@ui
six ¼ Ei þ mi siy ¼ Ei eix þ mi siy ði ¼ 1,2Þ: ð10Þ
@x
Consider the case of i¼1, namely the upper adherend. After
some algebraic manipulation and substitution of Eqs. (3) and (6)
into Eq. (9), and integrating qv1/qy1 with respect to y1, the
transverse displacement of the upper adherend v1 becomes
Z r1
t1 t1 dt3 r4 r3
v1 ¼ v1u þ ðs1y m1 s1x Þdr~ 1 ¼ v1u þ t1 1 þ 1
0 E1 E1 dx 4 3
4
r m 6M 1
þ su3y 1 þ r31 1 f1 r1 þ ðr21 r1 Þ , ð11aÞ
2 E1 t1
where v1u is the transverse displacement at the upper surface of
Fig. 2. (a) Global equilibrium along the overlap, and (b) free-body stress the upper adherend. According to the condition of displacement
equilibrium diagram. continuity, and taking Eq. (11a) into account, the transverse
B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445 437
displacement of the upper adherend at the interface between the Note that all the axial normal stress components must satisfy
adhesive and the upper adherend v1l can be expressed as the following definitions:
t1 dt3 t1 su3y m1 Z 1 Z 1
v1l ¼ v1 ðr1 ¼ 1Þ ¼ v1u þ þ f1 : ð11bÞ Mi ¼ six ðri 0:5Þti2 dri , fi ¼ six ti dri ði ¼ 1,2Þ: ð17Þ
E1 dx 12 2 E1
0 0
Using Eq. (11b), Eq. (11a) can be rewritten as After substituting Eqs. (15), (16) and peel stress expressions (6)
into stress–strain Eq. (10), and taking Eq. (1) into consideration,
t1 dt3 r4 r3 1 r4 1 and substituting the new longitudinal normal stresses (10) into
v1 ¼ v1l þ t1 1 þ 1 þ su3y 1 þ r31 the above Eq. (17), then one obtains
E1 dx 4 3 12 2 2
8 2 u
> d2 v 11t2 d3 t 13t d s3y 12su3y
m 6M1 2 > 12M m 0:2 dt
< dx21l ¼ E1 t31 þ 210E11 dx33 þ 1 E1 dx3 þ 35E11 dx2 5E1 t1 ,
1 f1 ðr1 1Þ þ ðr1 r1 Þ : ð11cÞ
E1 t1 1
2 l ð18aÞ
>
>
2 11t22 d3 t3 m2 0:2 dt3 13t2 d s3y 12sl3y
In exactly the same way as for the upper adherend, the : ddxv22u ¼ 12M
E t 3
2
þ 210E 2 dx
3 þ E2 dx
35E2 dx
2 þ 5E t
2 2
,
2 2
m 1 m1 > 4 2 3 12Q1
12Q
: ða7 D a8 D þ a9 Þtm þ ða4 D a5 DÞsm ¼
0
þ 1 ðr1 1Þ Q1 ð2r31 3r21 þ 1Þ: :
2
ð15Þ E1 t13 E t3
E1 G1 E1 2 2
ð23Þ
In exactly the same way as for the upper adherend, the
longitudinal displacement function u2 in the lower adherend where the constants ai (i¼1 9) are given in Appendix A. a03 and
can be expressed as follows: a09 are of no use in the subsequent deductions, so their expres-
Z r2 sions are not provided.
@v2 dv2u Differentiating Eq. (23) with respect to x and using Eq. (1)
u2 ðr2 Þ ¼ u2u þ g2 ðr~ 2 Þ t2 dr~ 2 ¼ u2u t2 r2
0 @x dx leads to two coupled, fifth-order ordinary differential equations
" # with constant coefficients for the unknown stresses tm and sm :
2
1 d t3 3 r42 r52 r32 dsl3y 2 r52 r42 r22
t þ t þ (
E2 dx2 2
6 20 6 dx 2
20 4 2 ða1 D5 a2 D3 þ a3 DÞtm þ ða7 D4 a8 D2 þ a9 Þsm ¼ 0,
ð24Þ
1 m2 m ða7 D5 a8 D3 þ a9 DÞtm þ ða4 D4 a5 D2 þ a6 Þsm ¼ 0:
þ t3 t2 ðr32 2r22 þ r2 Þ þ 2 r2
G2 E2 E2
Elimination of either of tm or sm from Eq. (24) leads to a nine-
1 m2 3 2
Q2 ð2r2 3r2 Þ: ð16Þ order differential equation, whose solution is feasible employing
G2 E2
Ferrari’s classical solution, and the general solution of Eq. (24)
438 B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445
may be expressed as follows: balanced joints. Thus it is necessary that the simplified design
8 formulae are developed which may be applied to both the unba-
>
> tm ¼ C1 cosh l1 x þ C2 sinh l1 x þ C3 cosh l2 x þC4 sinh l2 x
>
> lanced and balanced joints.
>
> þcosh l3 xðC5 cos l4 x þ C6 sin l4 xÞ
>
> It has been demonstrated that the coupled coefficients ai(i¼7–9)
>
< þsinh l3 xðC7 cos l4 x þ C8 sin l4 xÞ þ C9 , in Eq. (24) are relatively small in most cases in the unbalanced joints,
ð25Þ
>
>
>
sm ¼ D1 sinh l1 x þD2 cosh l1 x þ D3 sinh l2 x þ D4 cosh l2 x and they turn into zero in the balanced joints. Thus the coupled
>
>
>
> þcosh l3 xðD5 cos l4 x þ D6 sin l4 xÞ effects of adhesive shear and peel stresses may be neglected, which
>
>
: þsinh l3 xðD7 cos l4 x þ D8 sin l4 xÞ, has been verified feasible in the B–C solution [35]. That is, ai(i¼7–
9)¼0 in the full solution, then Eq. (24) is rewritten as:
where Ci (i¼1–9) and Dj (j¼1–8) are the integration constants (
and they are not independent, and 7 l1, 7 l2 and 7 l3 7il4(here ða1 D5 a2 D3 þ a3 DÞtm ¼ 0,
ð27Þ
i is imaginary unit) are eight eigenvalues of the characteristic ða4 D4 a5 D2 þ a6 Þsm ¼ 0:
equation, and the detailed solving procedure can be seen in
Generally, the solutions of Eq. (27) may be expressed as
references [1,18].
follows:
The complete solutions of the governing differential equations
for tm and sm have nine unknown integration constants to be tm ¼ C1 cosh l1 x þ C2 sinh l1 x þ C3 cosh l2 x þC4 sinh l2 x þ C5 ,
determined by the imposition of appropriate boundary condi- sm ¼ cosh l3 xðD1 cos l4 x þ D2 sin l4 xÞ
tions. It is noted that the present approach yields the explicit þsinh l3 xðD3 cos l4 x þD4 sin l4 xÞ, ð28aÞ
closed-form analytical solutions. where the constants li, Cj, Di (i¼1 4, j ¼1 5) are given
in Appendix B.
2.4. Boundary condition equations Specifically, taking the case of balanced joints with identical
adherends, i.e., E1=E2=E, G1=G2=G and t1=t2=t into account, then
From Eqs. (1) and (2), (22) and (23), the following equations C2 ¼0, C4 ¼0, D2 ¼0, D3 ¼0, and Eq. (28a) can be rewritten as
which can satisfy the rigorous boundary conditions are given by (
Z l tm ¼ C1 cosh l1 x þ C3 cosh l2 x þ C5
: ð28bÞ
tm dx ¼ F, tm 9x ¼ 8 l ¼ 0 ð26a2cÞ sm ¼ D1 cosh l3 x cos l4 x þD4 sinh l3 x sin l4 x
l
8 Furthermore, the peel stress distribution across the adhesive
>
>
> ða1 D3 a2 DÞtm þða7 D2 a8 Þsm and adherends’ thicknesses can be obtained by Eqs. (7) and (6);
>
> x ¼ 8l x ¼ 8l
>
> ( substituting Eq. (28a) into the overall equilibrium Eq. (1) and
>
> ½F þ 6M1 ð1=t1 þ t3 =t12 Þ=ðE1 t1 Þ
>
> , integrating fi, Qi and Mi (i¼1, 2, 3) with respect to x, then all the
>
> ¼
>
> ½F þ 6M2 ð1=t2 þ t3 =t22 Þ=ðE2 t2 Þ expressions for these forces are identified by imposing the rigorous
>
>
>
> boundary stress conditions (2) at the ends of the overlap, namely
>
> ðða7 D3 a8 DÞtm þ ða4 D2 a5 Þsm
>
> 8
< ( x ¼ 8l x ¼ 8l
>
> f ¼ D1 9x ¼ l D1 , f2 ¼ Ff1 ,
12M
=ðE 1 t 3
Þ ð26d2iÞ > 1
>
>
>¼ 1 1
, >
< Q1 ¼ D2 9 D2 tm t3 =2, Q2 ¼ D2 D2 9x ¼ l tm t3 =2,
>
> 12M2 =ðE2 t23 Þ x¼l
>
> ð29Þ
>
> > M ¼ f ðt þ t 3 Þ=2D3 þ D2 9x ¼ l ðxlÞ þ D3 9x ¼ l ,
>
> >
> 1 1 1
> ða7 D4 a8 D2 Þtm
> þ ða4 D3 a5 DÞsm
>
>
>
> x ¼ 8l x ¼ 8l
: M2 ¼ D3 f2 ðt2 þ t3 Þ=2D2 9 ðx þlÞD3 9x ¼ l ,
>
> ( x ¼ l
>
>
>
> 12Q1 =ðE1 t13 Þ
>
> ¼ : where the terms Di (i¼1 3) are presented in Appendix B.
>
: 12Q2 =ðE2 t23 Þ
Hence the nine equations in Eq. (26) will determine exclu- 3. Verification and discussion
sively the nine unknown coefficients for tm and sm . Using Eq. (7),
then the peel stress su3y and sl3y at the interfaces between the The geometry and material parameters for the unbalanced joint
adhesive and adherends, can be obtained. Substituting the explicit in Fig. 1 were taken as: l¼10 mm, L¼40 mm, t1 ¼t2 ¼2 mm, t3 ¼
expressions of t3, su3y and sl3y into the overall equilibrium Eq. (1) 0.2 mm, E3 ¼0.7 GPa, m3 ¼ 0.4, E1 ¼70 GPa, E2 ¼140 GPa, m1 ¼ m2 ¼
and integrating fi, Qi and Mi (i¼ 1, 2) with respect to x, then all the 0.34 and F¼0.6 kN. 5466 four-noded 2D plane strain elements and
expressions for these forces are identified by imposing the 5717 nodes were examined to analyze the geometrically nonlinear
rigorous boundary stress conditions (2) at the ends of the overlap. elastic behavior of single-lap bonded joint under tension, using the FE
Thus, the distribution of stresses (six, siy, ti) (i¼1, 2, 3), at any point code of MSC.Patran/Nastran 2005. A zoom view of the FE models in
(x, yi) in both the adhesive and adherends is entirely determined by the overlap end region appears in Fig. 3. The loadings and boundary
applying these force expressions, Eqs. (25) and (7) to Eqs. (3), (5) and conditions are shown in Fig. 1. The adhesive layer was divided into
(6). Accordingly, the state of strain (eix, eiy, gi) (i¼1, 2, 3) in both the eight four-noded quadrilateral isoparametric elements through its
adhesive and adherends is also entirely determined by substituting thickness. In order to obtain the high peak stresses in the near vicinity
all the stresses (six, siy, ti) (i¼1, 2, 3) into Eqs. (8)–(10). of the overlap edges, a finer mesh with the smallest element of dim-
ensions 0.025 mm 0.03125 mm was used for these areas (Fig. 3). In
2.5. Simplified design formulae the geometrically nonlinear FE implementation, 10 equal load incre-
ments are employed and Newton’s method is selected as the non-
For convenience, the above solutions including Eq. (25) are called linear equation solver.
the full analytical solution for the shear and peel stresses of the The following analytical solution using present approach only
adhesive and adherends in the unbalanced single-lap joints. However, addressed the plane strain state for convenience. The normalized
it is not easy to use for the full solution due to two main factors: the adhesive average shear stress tm =t0 , and average peel stress sm =p
coefficient matrix inversion and the requirement of a4a8–a5a7 a0 in the adhesive middle plane predicted by the present theory, the
during its derivation in the unbalanced joints; when the unbalanced B–C solution and the FE models (baseline model) are plotted
joints become the balanced joints a4a8–a5a7 equals zero, which along the normalized overlap length in the subsequent figures, in
implies the full solution is not suitable for the specific case of the which t0 (F/2/l) and p (F/t2) are the applied average shear stress in
B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445 439
Fig. 5. Distributions of the adhesive stresses along the dimensionless overlap length for the unbalanced single-lap joint: (a) average shear stresses (tm), (b) average peel
stresses (sm) and (c) peel stresses at the upper and lower interfaces (su3y and sl3y ).
Fig. 6. In-plane load distributions (tensile force, shearing force and bending moment) acting on the upper and lower adherends predicted by the present theory: (a) f1 and
f2, (b) Q1 and Q2 and (c) M1 and M2.
B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445 441
Fig. 7. 2D stress distributions for the upper and lower adherends and adhesive layer predicted by the present theory: (a) s1x, (b) s2x, (c) s1y, (d) s2y, (e) t1, (f) t2 and (g) s3y.
at the adhesive free edges, Fig. 7(a)–(g) depicts the stress distribu-
tions of the upper and lower adherends and adhesive along the
normalized overlap length and their respective thickness directions,
respectively. An examination of these figures reveals the following
observations:
Fig. 9. E2/E1 vs. the adhesive stresses: (a) average shear stresses (tm), (b) average peel stresses (sm), (c) peel stresses at the upper interface (su3y ) and (d) peel stresses at the
lower interface (sl3y ).
(5). It can be seen from Fig. 7(g) that the adhesive peel stress s3y edges. Note that the regions very close to the joint overlap ends
shows a significant variation with the dimensionless coordi- where the strain variation is severe are not included in all the
nate r3, especially near the free edges of the joint. However, curves for the purpose of clear plotting, due to a significant
the adhesive shear stress as seen in Fig. 5(a), unlike those of difference between the present theory and numerical values.
the upper and lower adherends(see Fig. 7(e) and (f)), in
general, does not yield relatively significant changes with
3.4. Parametric study for the stiffness unbalanced joints
the normalized adhesive thickness. Actually, the variation of
the adhesive stresses through the thickness is very small in
3.4.1. Effect of the Young’s modulus ratio E2/E1 between the lower
the center of the overlap region. This region is not a major
and upper adherends on the adhesive stress distributions
concern in engineering applications because it is far away
The effect of Young’s modulus ratio E2/E1 on the theoretical
from the stress concentration areas. The variations of these
distributions of the adhesive shear and the peel stresses was
stresses with the adhesive layer’s thickness also illustrate one
examined by changing the ratio E2/E1 from 1 to 4, while the value
of dangers in plotting the average stresses for predicting the
E1 was held constant at 70 GPa, and the ratio t1/t2 was chosen to be
joint failure.
equal to 1. It can be seen in Fig. 9(a)–(d) that the effect of the
(6). Finally, these stress components predicted by the present
adherends stiffness imbalance on the adhesive shear and peel stress
theory could provide a basis for subsequent joint failure
distributions increases as the ratio E2/E1 is far away 1 (the case of the
analysis including the main failure modes such as adherend
balanced joints), and it is noted that the adhesive peel stress
failure, cohesive failure and adhesive failure.
distributions at the edges of the interfaces increase sharply, as shown
in Fig. 9(c)–(d). This is obviously an unfavorable feature for the stress
concentrations in the adhesive joints because of the wide gap
3.3. Theoretical prediction and numerical validation of the normal
between the two extreme values of the adhesive shear or peel stress.
strains in the upper adherend
These distribution results obtained here coincide with the conclusions
from Sawa et al. [29].
One of the capabilities for the present theory is to provide the
2D strain prediction in both the upper and lower adherends.
Subsequently, taking the case of the upper adherend as an 3.4.2. Effect of the thickness ratio t1/t2 between the upper and lower
example, the two normal strain comparisons between theoretical adherends on the adhesive stress distributions
and numerical results in the mid plane are shown in Fig. 8. In Fig. 10(a)–(d) showed the effect of the thickness ratio t1/t2
general the correlation is good between the two except for the between the upper and lower adherends on the adhesive stress
B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445 443
Fig. 10. t1/t2 vs. the adhesive stresses: (a) average shear stresses (tm), (b) average peel stresses (sm), (c) peel stresses at the upper interface (su3y ) and (d) peel stresses at the
lower interface (sl3y ).
distributions. Similar to E2/E1, the effect of adherends stiffness Appendix A. Constants in the present full analytical solution
imbalance on the adhesive stress distributions increases as the
ratio t1/t2 increases. Figs. 9 and 10 indicated that the ratios of E2/
E1 and t1/t2, and different combinations of these two ratios, have a 4t13 þ22t12 t3 þ 39t1 t32 4t23 þ 22t22 t3 þ39t2 t32
a1 ¼ þ ,
significant influence on both maximum shear and maximum peel 420E1 420E2
stresses in the adhesive. It implies that there should be an optimal t3 4t1 þ 3t3 þ 9t32 =t1 15m1 t3 4t2 þ 3t3 þ 9t32 =t2 15m2 t3
a2 ¼ þ þ ,
parameter ratio E2t1/E1t2 suggested by Cheng et al. [26], which is G3 15E1 15E2
favorable to the stress intensities in the joint.
1 þ 3ð1 þ t3 =t1 Þ2 1 þ 3ð1þ t3 =t2 Þ2
a3 ¼ þ ,
E1 t1 E2 t2
t3 13 t1 t2 12 12
a4 ¼ þ þ , a5 ¼ þ ,
E3 35 E1 E2 5E1 t1 5E2 t2
4. Conclusions 2 2
12 12 11t1 þ39t1 t3 11t2 þ 39t2 t3
a6 ¼ þ , a7 ¼ ,
A general approach is proposed for the elastic stress analysis in E1 t13 E2 t23 210E1 210E2
the unbalanced adhesive joints, considering the complete strain– 1:2t3 =t1 m1 þ 0:2 1:2t3 =t2 m2 þ 0:2
a8 ¼ ,
displacement and the complete stress–strain equations for the E1 E2
adhesive and adherends. The theory can fulfill the zero shear 6ð1 þt3 =t1 Þ 6ð1 þt3 =t2 Þ
a9 ¼ :
stress condition at the adhesive free edges, and has the capability E1 t12 E2 t22
of predicting the peel stress distribution through the adhesive
thickness, and provides a unified treatment for any possible Appendix B. Constants and terms in the present simplified
adhesive flexibility. An explicit closed-form analytical solution is analytical solution
formulated for upper and lower adherends/adhesive stresses
(strains) and the in-plane loads acting on the adherends and then qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
simplified for practical applications, and simple design formulae l21,2 ¼ ða2 7 a22 4a1 a3 Þ=ð2a1 Þ,
for adhesive stresses are developed. The results predicted by the qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
present full and simplified solutions for unbalanced bonded joints ð 7 l3 7il4 Þ2 ¼ ða5 7i 4a4 a6 a25 Þ=ð2a4 Þ,
were verified by comparing with the B–C solution and the
detailed 2D geometrically nonlinear FE model. The effects of the 3
C1 ¼ fa2 ½sinh l2 l=ðl2 lÞcosh l2 lFða1 l2 a2 l2 Þsinh l2 l=ð2lÞg=D,
stiffness unbalanced parameters, E2/E1 and t1/t2, on the adhesive
3 3
stress distributions are also discussed. C2 ¼ a1 =½ða a a a
1 l1 2 l1 Þcosh l1 lð 1 l2 2 l2 Þsinh l1 l coth l2 l,
444 B. Zhao et al. / International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives 31 (2011) 434–445
D1 ¼ ðb1 R4 b4 R2 Þ=ðR1 R4 R2 R3 Þ, s3y ¼ cosh l2 xðB1 cos l2 x þB2 sin l2 xÞ
D2 ¼ ðb2 R8 b3 R6 Þ=ðR5 R8 R6 R7 Þ, þsinh l2 xðB3 cos l2 x þ B4 sin l2 xÞ,
D3 ¼ ðb3 R5 b2 R7 Þ=ðR5 R8 R6 R7 Þ,
where
D4 ¼ ðb4 R1 b1 R3 Þ=ðR1 R4 R2 R3 Þ, !
4G3 1 1 3E3 1 1
l21 ¼ þ
4
, l2 ¼ þ ,
D ¼ ða1 l31 a2 l1 Þsinh l1 l½sinh l2 l=ðl2 lÞcosh l2 l t3 E2 t2 E1 t1 t3 E1 t13 E2 t23
3
" #
ða1 l2 a2 l2 Þsinh l2 l½sinh l1 l=ðl1 lÞcosh l1 l, G3 F F 6M2 6M1
a1 ¼ þ þ þ ,
2t3 l1 E2 t2 E1 t1 E2 t22 E1 t12
F=2 þ 3M1 ð1=t1 þ t3 =t12 Þ F=2þ 3M2 ð1=t2 þt3 =t22 Þ " #
a1 ¼ , G3 F F 6M2 6M1
E1 t1 E2 t2 a2 ¼ þ ,
2t3 l1 E2 t2 E1 t1 E2 t22 E1 t12
F=2 þ 3M1 ð1=t1 þ t3 =t12 Þ F=2 þ3M2 ð1=t2 þt3 =t22 Þ
a2 ¼ ,
E1 t1 E2 t2 B1 ¼ ðb1 R6 þb4 cosh l2 l cos l2 lÞ=R4 ,
B2 ¼ ðb2 R2 þb3 cosh l2 l sin l2 lÞ=R1 ,
6M2 6M1 6M2 6M1 6Q1 6Q2 B3 ¼ ðb2 R3 þb3 sinh l2 l cos l2 lÞ=R1 ,
b1 ¼ þ , b2 ¼ , b3 ¼ ,
E2 t23 E1 t13 E2 t23 E1 t13 E1 t13 E2 t23 B4 ¼ ðb1 R5 þb4 sinh l2 l sin l2 lÞ=R4 ,
6Q1 6Q2 2 2 ! !
b4 ¼ , c1 ¼ a4 ðl3 l4 Þa5 , c2 ¼ 2a4 l3 l4 ,
E1 t13 E2 t23 3E3 M2 M1 3E3 M2 M1
b1 ¼ 2
þ , b2 ¼ ,
2 2
c3 ¼ l3 ½a4 ðl3 3l4 Þa5 , c4 ¼ l4 ½a4 ðl4 3l3 Þ þ a5 ,
2 2 t3 l2 E2 t23 E1 t13 2 3
t3 l2 E2 t2 E1 t1
3
! !
R1 ¼ c1 cosh l3 l cos l4 lc2 sinh l3 l sin l4 l, 3E3 Q2 Q 3E3 Q2 Q
b3 ¼ 1 , b4 ¼ þ 13 ,
R2 ¼ c1 sinhl3 lsinl4 l þc2 coshl3 l cos l4 l, 3
t3 l2 E2 t23 E1 t13 3 3
t3 l2 E2 t2 E1 t1
R3 ¼ c3 sinh l3 l cos l4 l þc4 cosh l3 l sin l4 l,
R4 ¼ c3 cosh l3 l sin l4 lc4 sinh l3 l cos l4 l, R1 ¼ 0:5ðcosh 2l2 lsin 2l2 lÞ,
R5 ¼ c1 cosh l3 l sin l4 l þc2 sinh l3 l cos l4 l, R2 ¼ cosh l2 l cos l2 l þ sinh l2 l sin l2 l,
R6 ¼ c1 sinh l3 l cos l4 lc2 cosh l3 l sin l4 l, R3 ¼ cosh l2 l cos l2 lsinh l2 lsin l2 l,
R7 ¼ c3 sinh l3 l sin l4 lc4 cosh l3 l cos l4 l, R4 ¼ 0:5ðcosh 2l2 l þ sin 2l2 lÞ,
R8 ¼ c3 cosh l3 l cos l4 l þc4 sinh l3 l sin l4 l, R5 ¼ sinh l2 lcosl2 l þ cosh l2 l sin l2 l,
R6 ¼ sinh l2 lcos l2 lcosh l2 l sin l2 l:
C1 C2
D1 ¼ sinh l1 x þ cosh l1 x
l1 l1
C3 C4 References
þ sinh l2 x þ cosh l2 x þ C5 x,
l2 l2
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