Effect of adherends misalignment on the strength of single-lap bonded joints

Adhesively bonded joints are widely used in the design of structures due to the high strength-to-weight ratio. The entire literature generally investigates on how to improve the strength of adhesive joints because the use of adhesive joints is increasing in many industries. However, the strength of adhesive joints depends on the geometric errors of parts to be joined, the bonding process and the equipment used to join the parts. This work aims to numerically investigate how a possible error due to the bonding process influences the strength of the adhesive joint. The single-lap joint was used as a type of joint due to its simple geometry, and the adherends misalignment was considered as error due to the bonding process. Considering the single-lap joint as an assembly made of two adherends and an adhesive, it is possible to reason in terms of tolerance analysis where, varying the geometry of the adherends, it is possible to evaluate how it influences the strength of the adhesive joint. In order to perform this analysis, a numerical tool, based on FEA and MATLAB® software packages, was used to manage the geometrical deviations of the adherends. The effect of the adherends misalignment on the reduction of the strength of the adhesive joint was testified by experimental tests.