PSI - Issue 81

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

Procedia Structural Integrity 81 (2026) 221–227

© 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Abstract In this work, experimental and computational investigations were carried out to evaluate the shear strength of adhesive joints. Aluminum specimens bonded with a polyurethane adhesive were tested under static shear loading at room and reduced temperatures (down -60°C) using a BISS-202V servohydraulic testing machine. The obtained force-displacement curves and ultimate shear stress provided insight into the mechanical performance of the joints under varying temperatures conditions. Finite element modeling was performed employing a cohesive zone model (CZM) to simulate the adhesive layer behavior, including damage initiation, crack nucleation and propagation. The comparison between experimental and numerical results enabled the identification of CZM parameters that ensured good agreement with test data. The findings confirm the suitability of cohesive modeling for predicting the strength and failure mechanisms of adhesive joints under shear strength. 1. Introduction In modern industries, particularly in automotive, aerospace and construction, adhesive joints are widely used. Every year their characteristics are improved, new adhesive mixtures are developed that allow solving the problems of building various structures that operate in a wide range of temperatures (Methfessel and Becker 2025). The main advantage of such joints is the relative ease of application, the ability to connect and seal structures made from materials of different nature: metal, polymer, wood, glass, ceramic, etc. Most structural adhesives are characterized by high shear strength and, at the same time low tensile strength, which should be taken into account when designing products to minimize loads, whose direction is normal to the joint. It is also worth noting that adhesives can exhibit a wide range of properties depending on operating conditions. For example, high-tech adhesives capable of withstanding large temperature fluctuations and radiation, making them indispensable in the creation of satellites and other spacecraft (Methfessel and Becker 2025, Gomes et al. 2025, Yang et al. 2025). At the same time, adhesive joints have certain disadvantages due to the formation of a weak edge layer, which leads to a loss of strength. The main reasons for the formation of such a layer include violations of bonding technology, incorrect material selection, poor substrate wettability; non-uniformity of the adhesive layer thickness; the presence of voids in the adhesive layer. Another significant drawback of adhesive joints is their hygroscopicity, which leads to a loss of structural strength during prolonged use in a humid environment. The absorbed moisture impairs the mechanical properties of the adhesive and affects the adhesive-substrate VIII International Conference “In - service Damage of Materials: Diagnostics and Prediction“ (DMDP 2025) Experimental and computational studies of adhesive joint strength Nazar Loboda a, *, Eugene Kondryakov a , Andriy Kravchuk a , Oleksander Maslo a a Pisarenko Institute for Problems of Strength, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Ukraine Peer-review under responsibility of DMDP 2025 organizers Keywords: Adhesive joint; Cohesive zone model; Ultimate shear stregth;

* E-mail address: lobodanazar2k18@gmail.com

2452-3216 © 2026 The Authors. Copy from the contract: Published by ELSEVIER B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0) Peer-review under responsibility of DMDP 2025 organizers 10.1016/j.prostr.2026.03.038