experimental research on load capacity, treatment of adhesively bonded surface and failure process of structural t-joint

In this paper the mechanical behaviour of structural two-component epoxy adhesives in T-joints is experimentally investigated. The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of the adhesive bonded surface treatment on the maximum force required to cause destruction, i.e. bearing capacity of T-joints bonded with various adhesives. Experimental results showed that the type of the adhesive affected the limit values of a force required for the destruction of the adhesive bond. The effect of the bonded surface treatment was also confirmed. From the results of experiment it was proved on five tested two-component epoxy adhesives that the negative effect of the peeling forces can be reduced by mechanical treatment of the adhesive bonded surface e.g. blasting. When there is applied an unsuitable mechanical treatment of adhesive bonded surface, the decrease of the force required for the destruction of the bond was up to about 98%.