Strength Prediction of Adhesively Bonded Single Lap Joints Under Salt Spray Environment Using a Cohesive Zone Model

The aim of this research was to develop an experimental–numerical approach to characterize the effect of salt spray environment on adhesively bonded joints and predict the degradation in joint strength. Experiments were conducted on bulk adhesive specimens and single lap joints (SLJs) under salt spray condition and the corresponding experimental results were reported. The environment degradation factor, Deg, was incorporated into a bilinear cohesive zone model (CZM) to simulate the degradation process of the joints. The degraded CZM parameters, determined from static tests on bulk adhesive, were imported into the CZM using an approximate moisture concentration gradient approach. The reduction in residual strength of SLJ under salt spray environment was successfully predicted through comparing the experimental and numerical results.