DESIGN RATIONALE OF INDUSTRIAL, BONDED, DOUBLE CONTAINMENT JOINTS WITH DISSIMILAR MATERIALS

In the design of bonded structures made from dissimilar materials, the material properties of the weakest link only, which is often the bonded layer are usually considered. In the present work, the effect of neglecting the adherends' stiffness (size, elastic modulus and bending stiffness) is assessed. Different models of industrial containment joints comprising dissimilar materials with varying width-to-height ratios were considered. ft is shown that the philosophy which neglects the adherends' stiffness is quite rational and contributes to both weight and cost savings as long as the joint support is totally fixed.