Failure load prediction of single lap adhesive joints based on a new linear elastic criterion

•A distance based criterion was proposed for failure load prediction in adhesive SLJs.•Longitudinal strain along the adhesive layer was used as critical parameter.•Some experiments were performed to validate the proposed criterion.•Very good agreement was seen between the predictions and the experimental data.

In this study a new failure criterion has been proposed to predict the static strength of single lap adhesive joints under tensile loading. The criterion is based on a simple 2D linear elastic finite element analysis and two material and geometry parameters. According to this method, the longitudinal strain magnitude along the adhesive layer is used as a failure parameter. The criterion suggests that fracture occurs when the failure parameter along the adhesive mid-plane reaches a critical value at a critical distance. Failure loads are also determined experimentally for a series of single lap adhesive joints of different bonding lengths. It is shown that the predictions based on the proposed criterion have good agreements with the experimental data.