Viscoelastic Analysis of an Adhesive Tubular Joint

Abstract

The investigations so far available with regard to stress analysis of adhesive joints assume that the adhesive is elastic. In the present analysis the time dependent properties of the adhesive are taken into account by assuming that the adhesive is viscoelastic. The viscoelastic analysis of a tubular joint has been attempted using a prony series fitting for the relaxation modulus of two adhesives. The long term redistribution of the stresses in the adhesive is evaluated using the finite element method. Viscoelastic analysis of an adhesive tubular joint has been performed for the first time, using the finite element method with a prony series fitting for the relaxation modulus of the adhesive. For a typical epoxy it has been found that not only the elastic stresses are different at different levels but also the viscoelastic response shows considerable variation from one level to another. As large a reduction as 57 % is noticed in the normal stress and an even larger reduction of 62% is noticed in the shear stress over three decades of time. The technique used in this report for the solution of the long term response can be employed for a study of the short-term response also.