Validation of advanced numerical techniques for the strength prediction of adhesively-bonded joints

Cohesive Zone Models (CZM) are widely used for the strength prediction of adhesive joints. This work studies the influence of different conditions used in CZM simulations to model a thin adhesive layer in single-lap joints (SLJ) submitted to a tensile loading, for an estimation of their influence on the strength prediction under diverse geometrical and material conditions. Adhesives ranging from brittle to highly ductile and overlap lengths (LO) between 12.5 and 50 mm were considered. Several damage initiation and growth criteria were tested. The analysis carried out in this work allowed to conclude that CZM is a powerful technique for strength prediction of bonded joints, provided that the modelling conditions are properly defined.