Analysis of adhesively bonded joints of laser surface treated composite primary components of aircraft structures

The performance of the adhesively bonded aerospace structures highly depends on the adhesion strength between the adhesive and adherents, which is affected by, in particular, the condition of the bonding surface. Among the various surface treatment methods, as state of the art, laser surface treatment is a suitable option for the CFRP composite structures to enhance the adhesion performance, adjusting the roughness and surface free energy with relatively minimizing the damage to the fibers. The aim of this study is the validation and evaluation of the adhesive bonding behavior of the laser surface-treated CFRP composite structures, using the finite element technique to perform a conservative prediction of the failure load and damage growth. Such objectives were achieved by executing both experimental and numerical analyses of the secondary bonded CFRP parts using a structural adhesive. In this regard, to complement physical experiments by means of numerical simulation, macro-scale 3D FEA of adhesively bonded Single Lap Joint and Skin-Spar Joint specimens has been developed employing the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) technique in order to simulate bonding behavior in composite structures especially skin-spar relation in the aircraft wing-box.