Abstract:
This research shows the effect of aluminum oxide Al2O3 nanoparticles included in Epocast 50-A1/946 epoxy adhesive at different temperatures in quasi-static tensile loading. The single lap adhesive joint with two different types of material adherends was used: composite fiber reinforced plastic and aluminum 5083 adherends. The effect on peel stress and shear stress was compared by adding Al2O3 nanoparticles into the neat adhesive at 25℃, 50℃, and 75℃ temperatures at four locations of the adhesive region: the top face (interface of aluminum and adhesive), the middle plane of adhesive, the longer edge (along the length of adhesive), the shorter edge (along the width of adhesive). The results show that adding nanoparticles into the neat adhesive improves the strength of the joint at room and elevated temperatures. High peel stress and shear stress were recorded near both edges of the top face (interface). At the top face, the peak peel stress was reduced by 1.3% and increased by 2.7% and 10.7% for 25℃, 50℃, and 75℃ temperatures respectively and the same trend was observed for other locations. At the top face, the peak shear stress decreased by 19.6% and increased by 7.7% and 8.7% for 25℃, 50℃, and 75℃ temperatures respectively and the same trend was observed for other locations. It was noted that adding aluminum oxide nanoparticles made adhesive stiffer at higher temperatures and made it more applicable to bear more force. Moreover, it was also noted that the peak of stress lies near the edges , indicating that the crack will most probably start close to the edges along the length of adhesive and translate towards the center and causes ultimate failure.
