Determination of Mechanical Properties of Single Lap Joints Having Sandwich Composite and Metal Adherend by Experimental and Numerical Approach

In this study, the mechanical properties of single lap joints having different adherends were determined by\rexperimental and numerical approaches. Steel, aluminum, and aluminum sandwich composite material were\rused as adherend, and Araldite 2015 epoxy adhesive was used as adhesive in single lap joints. Alongside\rthe single lap joints obtained by using similar adherends, different adherends were also examined within\rthe scope of this study. In the experimental approach, tensile tests were carried out at a rate of 1 mm/min.\rAt the end of the experimental approach, the stress-strain plots of each single lap joint were determined. In\raddition, the characterization of the polyethylene polymer, which is also included in the aluminum sandwich\rcomposite material used as the adherend , was made in experimental approach by XRD test. In the numerical\rapproach, the single lap joint geometry used in the experimental approach was created in the Ansys finite\relement program. A non-linear contact was established between the adhesive and the adherend, and boundary\rconditions were applied that meet the experimental conditions. It was observed that the numerical results\rshow a similar tendency with the experimental results due to the non-linear modeling of the lap joints, the\rapplication of the correct boundary conditions, and the selection of the correct contact type.