Effect of manufacturing parameters and environmental factors on the mechanical behavior of AA5052-H36 adhesively bonded overlap joints

This study investigated the joint resistance and fatigue behavior of single-lap Al 5052-H36 adhesively bonded joints. The main objective is to study the effect of factors related to the production of adhesively bonded joints and the effect of environmental factors on mechanical performance of the joint. The effect of silane abrasion as a surface treatment and adhesive curing condition were studied as the factors related to the production line. Two different degradation conditions named Cataplasma degraded, and apparent saturation conditions were investigated to evaluate the mechanical behavior of joints after degradation. Cataplasma as an accelerated aging condition is a combination of moisture coupled with high and low temperatures. Apparent saturation condition related to samples immersed at 70 C tap water to reach their moisture equilibrium status. The results demonstrate surface treatment improved fatigue life by 80 % and this improvement will be more considerable when structures are imposed to environmental degradation conditions. Curing bonded joints at room temperature increased their fatigue life by 68 % compared to poorly cured ones at −20 C. Although both environmental conditions reduced the fatigue life, however, this reduction was more severe for apparent saturation samples and the fatigue life decreased by 79 %.