Strength prediction of tubular composite adhesive joints under torsion

This paper addresses prediction of the strength of tubular adhesive joints with composite adherends by combining thermal and mechanical analyses. A finite element analysis was used to calculate the residual thermal stresses generated by cooling down from the adhesive cure temperature, and a nonlinear analysis incorporating the nonlinear adhesive behavior was performed to accurately estimate the mechanical stresses in the adhesive. Joint failure was estimated by three failure criteria: interfacial failure, adhesive bulk failure, and adherend failure. The distributions of residual thermal stresses were investigated for various stacking angles. The effect of residual thermal stresses on joint strength was also taken into consideration. The results indicate that the residual thermal stresses, depending on the stacking angle, have a significant influence on the failure mode and strength of adhesive joints when a subsequent mechanical load is applied. Good agreement is also obtained between the predicted joint strength and the available experimental data.