Dynamic strength of adhesively bonded composite joints with similar and dissimilar assembled adherends

The effect of similar versus dissimilar assembled adherends, on the dynamic strength of single-lap, adhesively bonded composite joints is investigated. The assembled adherend materials include titanium, aluminum and composite. To this end, split Hopkins pressure bar is used to assess the strength of the joints at high loading rates. The tests show that the dynamic strength of the joints is influenced by the assembled adherend material stiffness, and the highest strength is achieved when using high stiffness adherend materials. Numerical results conclude that the increase in the stiffness of the assembled adherend material alleviates the stress concentration and promotes a more uniform distribution of stresses in the adhesive. The results of this study indicate that the selection of assembled adherend material should be accounted for while designing adhesively bonded composite joints.