Static and fatigue performance of weld-bonded stainless steel joints

Recent published works in the field of weld-bonding present new results relevant to the manufacturing of structural metal joints. The set-up of process parameters, the selection of adhesives and the basic understanding of the long-term performance of these joints in hostile environments are now sufficiently well established for industrial implementation. However, it is still difficult to find reliable data in the open literature that may assist project and design engineers in choosing to replace conventional spot-welded and/or adhesive-bonded by weld-bonded joints. Important gaps of knowledge can still be found on the evaluation and understanding of the static and fatigue performance of these joints. This work addresses the aforementioned difficulties by evaluating the influence of the adhesives and of the applied load characteristics on the mechanical performance of weld-bonded structural metal joints. The presentation is supported by laboratory controlled experimental procedures using stainless steel test specimens and two different types of commercial adhesives.