Stress concentration coefficient in a composite double lap adhesively bonded joint

The main target of this paper is to investigate the effect of peak stress at the extremities of the adhesive layer of a bonded assembly subjected to dynamic shear impact. It is known, that under both static and dynamic loadings such joints endure at their extremities high level of stresses, an aspect known as edge effects. Double lap joint assembly was considered with unidirectional carbon-epoxy substrates and Araldite 2031 adhesive. To quantify this edge effect, a specific coefficient, named coefficient of stress concentration was defined: it is the ratio of the maximum shear stress to the average shear stress. This coefficient helps to calculate maximum strength of the joint since experimentally, only average shear stress could be measured. A numerical analysis at the midplane of the joint was carried out to investigate the effect of geometrical and material parameters on this stress concentration factor. It was found that this factor is constant with the time once the equilibrium is established. Moreover, this stress concentration coefficient decreases with higher Young's modulus of the adherents, lower Young's modulus of the adhesive, thicker and shorter adhesive layer. A unified parameter involving geometrical and mechanical parameters of the specimen was established to quantify this stress concentration factor. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.