Combine experimental and FEM analysis of adhesive bonded single lap joint with Al-alloy flat adherends and pre-embedded artificial defects

Adhesive bonded lap joint is considered to be better substitute to riveted or welded joints for aerospace, marine and structural applications. It is due to the ability to develop relatively lower stress concentration and fatigue severity in highly dynamic environment. In real practice, there are defects present in the joint interface that decide the strength and durability of the component. Hence, it is required to understand the joint strength with different defect geometries. In this paper, a combined experimental and finite element method is conducted to evaluate the strength of lap joint of Al-alloy flat plate, pre-embedded with defects of various geometries: square, rectangle, circular and elliptical.The results of experimental and FEM analysis are converging, and indicate the clear variation of strength due to different type of defects. It encourages further analysis.