LAUSR

Abstract The strength and interfacial behavior of single lap joints with graded adherends subjected to uniaxial tensile loading are investigated in the present paper. A bilinear cohesive zone model coupled with the finite element method is adopted to describe the damage and failure process of the adhesive layer. The peak loading, the rotation angle between the overlap of the joint and the horizontal direction, as well as the failure energy are investigated comprehensively. It is interesting to find that adopting different variation law in the graded adherends may result in varying strength of adhesive joints. By means of choosing proper material and geometry parameters of adhesive joints, the peak loading, the rotation angle and the failure energy of joints can be greatly improved. What is more, the strength of the SLJ is found to depend much more on the property of the soft part near the adhesive layer. The results should be helpful to guide the design of novel structures of adhesive joints in present and potential applications.