The effect of disbonds on stability aspects of adhesively bonded aluminum panels during compression loading

• Numerical model that couples non-linear buckling analysis with calculation of disbond growth.
• The size of the disbonds affects the buckling load capacity of the structure.
• The position of the disbonds influences both the buckling load capacity and the buckling mode.
• The disbond grows at different compression load, depending on its position, but always prior to buckling load.

This paper focuses on understanding the effect of disbonds on stability aspects of adhesively bonded aluminum structures. In order to utilize that a numerical methodology was developed and it consisted of a parametric finite element model that coupled non-linear buckling analysis with calculation of the critical strain energy release rate on the disbonds tip. The structure under investigation was representative of those used in aerospace industry, an aluminum plate with 4 adhesively bonded J-profile stiffeners subjected to compression loading. Disbonds of several sizes were located in different positions along the second stiffener. A critical disbond size observed after which the compression load capacity of the structure decreased significantly. Moreover, the position of the disbond played a critical role both on the buckling load and the buckling mode and as a consequence, the mechanisms that triggered the disbond onset.