An Experimental Evaluation on the Dynamic Response of Water Aged Composite/Aluminium Adhesive Joints: Influence of Electrospun Nanofibers Interleaving

Abstract

The impact response of adhesives is a critical design parameter considering their lifetime. Additionally, environmental effects such as water or moisture may cause to degrade of the polymer-based adhesive and shorten its service life. This study aimed to investigate the impact response of water-aged aluminium-composite adhesively bonded single lap joints (SLJs). Nylon 6.6 nanofibers modified with graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) were introduced in the adhesion areas to increase adhesive performance. The water aging resulted in decreased impact resistance in all cases. However, nanofiber-modified SLJs exhibited comparatively higher impact performance under both non-aged and water-aged conditions. Further, the GNP reinforced nylon 6.6 nanofibers increased the maximum impact load by 15 and 19% compared to neat nanofibers before and after aging, respectively. The fracture surfaces were examined via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to understand damage and toughness mechanisms. A schematic model has been developed to explain the mechanisms leading to improved bonding performance by applying N6.6 nanofiber reinforcement to the adhesion zone.