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This paper deals with the complexity of mechanical characterization of adhesives and modelling its behaviour in an assembly. Different testing systems have been studied such as tensile tests on bulk specimens, Arcan-Mines tests in different loading conditions, to characterize the mechanical behaviour and failure criteria of an epoxy base adhesive, under static and fatigue loading by taking into account viscoplastic behaviour of the adhesive. A static failure criterion has been proposed and extended for fatigue loading. Thick Adherent Shear Tests and single lap shear tests have been performed and compared with previous ones. A Finite Element (FE) simulation has been made in order to validate the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ability of structural adhesive to withstand combination of cyclic loading and service environment makes them suitable for a wide range of applications. It is nevertheless true that their mechanical and micromechanical behaviour is still little understood. The purpose of the work reported here is to study the fracture process and the role of talc fillers of an epoxy adhesive subjected to oligocyclic fatigue. Tests were conducted by using a set-up based on the Arcan fixture and experimental results have been reported for both tensile and shear cyclic loadings. The cohesive failure of the adhesive seems to set off at a specific amplitude level, whatever the loading value. By an incursion at the microstructural scale using scanning electron microscopy, we suggest an explanation of these phenomena. The foliated form of talc fillers are of major importance and seem to provide a deterministic evolution of damage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]