The impact of graphene nanoparticle additives on the strength of simple and hybrid adhesively bonded joints

In this paper, the effect of graphene nanoparticle additive on the strength of simple and hybrid (rivet-bonded) single-lap joints is studied using the experimental method. Two different types of graphene with different number of layer and thicknesses are used in adhesive-graphene nanoparticle composite construction. At first, tensile tests are done on bulk specimens of adhesive with different additives. It is found that adding 0.5 wt% of graphene to the neat adhesive leads to an increase in the ultimate tensile strength of bulk specimens almost 24% and 12% for two graphene types compared to the neat adhesive. Also, the shear strength of adhesive and hybrid lap joints incorporating two types of graphene nanoparticles (types I and II) is compared to that of adhesive and hybrid joints without graphene nanoparticles. SEM results of fracture surfaces show that the inclusion of graphene nanoparticle to the adhesive increases the roughness of surfaces. Experimental results reveal that graphene nanoparticle increases the strength of bonded and hybrid joints. It is observed that, graphene with a lower thickness and number of layers has a better influence on joint strength. In fact, graphene nanoparticle type II makes a homogeneous distribution in adhesive-graphene nanoparticle composite and causes a significant increase on joint strength.