Theoretical and experimental analysis of the scarf joint bonded structure: Influence of the adhesive thickness on the micro-mechanical behavior

In this work, we have studied the influence of the adhesive thickness on the micromechanical behavior of a scarf joint bonded structure loaded in uniaxial tension. Adherends are made of mild steel containing 0.18% Carbon (French Standard XC 18), the adhesive is a two-component epoxy resin with a 5800 MPa elastic modulus. The experimental method is based on strain gauge measurements and acoustic emission. It makes it possible to determine the following zones: - the areas of the joint where the start of microcracks occurs (threshold fill); - the areas where crack propagation occurs (threshold Fg) up to the failure (threshold Fv), The experimental results confirm the good correlation between the different thresholds. They also show that there is an optimal adhesive thickness close to 0.1 mm, which confers to the scarf joint the greatest resistance to microcrack initiation and crack extension. We have compared our experimental measurements with the main theories in this domain to determine their limits and their fields of application, particularly in the angular singularities regions near the ends of the lap.