Numerical modelling of functionally graded adherends

The development of lighter structures and materials has been one of the main research concerns of the transportation industry during the last decade, driven by the necessity to decrease fuel consumption and emissions. Therefore, the use of several different new lightweight materials, such as special metal alloys, reinforced polymers and new advanced composite materials has been explored, leading to optimized structures which combine these novel materials. To manufacture these multi-material structures, adhesive bonding is one of best joining techniques available, as fasteners add weight to the structure and require holes to be drilled and welding is not easily applicable to reinforced plastics, composites and some high strength metal alloys. However, adhesive bonding also presents some limitations that need to be considered, such as the appearance of singularities and the resultant stress concentration at the edges of the bond line, which result in a reduction of the joint strength. In order to mitigate this effect, several techniques have been proposed, being the use of functionally graded adherends one of them. Functionally graded adherends consist in an adherend where the mechanical properties gradually change throughout the material, usually in the thickness or length direction. The present work introduces the concept of a layered functionally graded adherend, varying the flexibility of each layer through the thickness direction. Different ratios of stiffness variation, combined with different adhesive properties, were numerically evaluated for single lap joints, comparing the stress distribution of the adhesive layer and the resultant joint strength, using cohesive zone modelling. Moreover, an optimization process of typical graded material properties, where different distribution laws that consider material weight and strength are considered, is presented.