Influence of localised corrosion shape on adhesive damage and a bonded assembly under thermo-mechanical loading

This study explores the damage prediction of repairs on bonded assemblies through a two-part analysis: simulation and experimentation. The effects of corrosion geometry on adhesive and plate damage were evaluated. In the first part, a three-dimensional finite element method (FEM) was used to analyse a cracked and corroded AL 2024 T3 alloy with a V-notch under thermo-mechanical loading. The analysis included calculating the stress intensity factor (SIF) at the crack tip in mode I at thermo-viscoelastic state, assessing the influence of corrosion geometry, determining the damaged area ratio (DR) for various adhesive configurations, optimising the patch shape for repairs, and examining the effects of crack depth on SIF.The second part involved an experimental investigation on the same bonded assembly under identical conditions. The findings reveal that the circular corrosion shape has minimal impact compared to the square shape, while the rectangular composite patch demonstrated superior performance as an optimal repair solution.