Abstract
This paper treats with the estimation on the flexural rigidity of adhesive-aided joints in steel (e.g. adhesive joint, weldbonded joint, etc.) based on experiments using three-point bending tests and calculations treating the adhesive joint as composite beams. As main conclusions for the adhesive joint, it is proved that in the case that thicknesses of both steel sheets of the joint are the same, the flexural rigidity increases with the increase of the adhesive part thickness, hence lightening weight of about 30 percent is possible under the condition that the flexural rigidity of the adhesive joint is the same as one of the spot-welded joint, moreover the width of the adhesive part has not so much effect on its flexural rigidity, and calculation results agree very well with experimental ones ; in the case that thicknesses of both steel sheets of the joint are different, the increase of the flexural rigidity using the adhesive joint is in general lower compared with the case that thicknesses of both steel sheets are the same. As main conclusions for the weldbonded joint, it becomes clear that its flexural rigidity is governed by the average thickness of the adhesive part, and decreases with the increase of numbs of spot-weld because the average thickness decreases.
