The Adhesive Bonding of Thermoplastic Cornposites

Abstract

The present paper reports some initial results on the adhesive bonding of thermoplastic composites, based upon carbon-fibre in a matrix of poly(aryl ether-ether ketone). Both single-and double-overlap joints have been employed and the mechanisms of failure studied using scanning electron microscopy. Further, a theoretical model, based upon a shear-lag analysis, has been used to predict the strength of the double-lap joints as a function of the overlap length and the theoretical results are compared to the experimental data.