Abstract

In this study, the influence of the adherend width on the tensile strength and failure loads of Z joints were analyzed both experimentally and numerically. The Z joints were subjected to tensile load in the experiments. The stress analyses were executed using the finite element method (FEM). The FEM analyses were performed with Ansys (v.14.0.1). The FEM analyses were carried out to investigate the stress and strain distributions in the adhesive layer of the Z joints. Experimental results were also compared with numerical results, thus they were found quite reasonable. The results showed that the joint strength and failure loads increased when specimen width (b) was increased. Lowest failure load was also determined at the 10 mm width for each specimen. In order to increase the performance of the joint, 30 mm was found to be the most suitable value of width.

Key words: Adhesive, stress analysis, interface, finite element method (FEM).