Experimental and numerical investigation of the residual strength of steel-composites bonded joints: Effect of media and aging condition

摘要

This paper presents the experimental and numerical investigation of the residual strength of steel-composites joints aged in distilled and salt water under steady and fluctuating conditions at a temperature of 45 degrees C. The adhesive and the composites adherend had been characterized to obtain water absorption behavior and water-dependent mechanical properties. It was found that under the steady condition, the residual strength of the joints aged in distilled water was lower than that aged in salt water; however, under the fluctuating condition, the residual strength of the joints aged in salt water was lower than that aged in distilled water. Overall, the residual strength of the joints aged in salt water under the fluctuating condition was the lowest. Sequentially water diffusion and progressive damage finite element modeling of the joints considering the failure mode have been undertaken. The predicted residual strengths included the cohesive and interfacial failures were in reasonably agreement with the experimental results.