22/4/2021 Durability testing of adhesively bonded composites | CompositesWorld

3/24/2021 | 5 MINUTE READ

PROCESSES

Durability testing of adhesively bonded composites

Current test method development shows potential for the composite wedge test, a
standardized durability-based test for adhesively bonded composites.
#design-and-testing

Figure 1. Wedge test specimen configuration. All photo credit: Dan Adams

Three types of coupon-level test methods may be used to assess the performance of bonded joints. Strength-
based tests typically involve lap shear specimens, as they best represent the primary loading of typical bonded
composite joints. Standardized lap shear test methods have been developed for use with metal, rigid plastic and
fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) adherends. Fracture-based tests used to evaluate bonded composites are based
primarily on the existing Mode I double cantilever beam (DCB) test for composite laminates, ASTM D55281.
Durability-based tests, also focus primarily on Mode I-type tests, but subject the adhesive-bondline crack tip to
high stresses for an extended period of time, ranging from several hours to several days.

Currently, there are no standardized durability-based tests for bonded composites, but test method
development is currently underway. In this column, I’ll focus on the development of a durability-based test for
adhesively bonded composites commonly referred to as the composite wedge test. This test method is based on
the well-established metal wedge test, ASTM D37622, used for durability-based assessment of aluminum-bonded
joints.

This test method consists of a 152-millimeter-long and 25-millimeter-wide-bonded aluminum specimen with a
19-millimeter initial disbond length produced in the adhesive bondline at one end of the specimen using a thin
separation film. The specimen is loaded by forcing a metal wedge — inserted a fixed distance — between the
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adherends, causing the initial disbond to propagate from the end of the separation film in the adhesive
bondline (Fig. 1). The wedge is retained in the specimen and the initial crack length, a, is measured. Specimens
are then exposed to a selected environmental condition, typically high humidity at elevated temperature. After
environmental exposure for a specified period of time (ranging from hours to days), specimens are removed
from the environmental chamber and the final crack length, a + Δa, is measured. The adherends are forcibly
separated and the percent cohesion failure, defined as failure within the adhesive, is estimated within the
region of environmental crack growth (Fig. 2). Environmental durability is assessed based on both the length of
crack growth during environmental exposure as well as the percent cohesion failure within the region of
environmental crack growth3.

Figure 2. Adhesion and cohesion failures within the region of environmental crack growth.

While hydration of the adherend surfaces is a primary concern associated with the durability of metal-bonded
joints4, other sources of durability concerns exist for adhesively bonded composites. Two of the more
significant concerns are improper surface preparation and contamination of the bonding surfaces prior to
adhesive bonding. Recent research investigations5,6 suggest that a composite wedge test may be well suited for
evaluating the long-term durability of bonded composite joints. However, the use of composite adherends
produces additional complexities due to their differing flexural rigidity, Ef I, defined as the flexural modulus Ef
of the composite adherend multiplied by its area moment of inertia I. For composite adherends, variations in Ef
I may result from differences in composite materials, volume fractions, ply thicknesses, number of plies and
laminate ply orientations. Differences in Ef I between sets of specimens will result in differences in both the
initial crack length and the length of crack growth during environmental exposure, preventing the use of crack
length in durability assessment.

An important advancement in the development of the composite wedge test was the transition from using
environmental crack growth as a measure of durability to the use of an estimated fracture toughness, GC. Using
beam theory, GC from a composite wedge test specimen may be determined using the equation

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where Ef is the flexural modulus of the adherend material, t is the thickness of the wedge, h is the thickness of
the composite adherend and a is the crack length. A correction factor to the beam theory expression for GC (in
parentheses above) was identified to account for the rotation of the adherends at the plane of the crack tip7.
Using this equation, an estimate of the fracture toughness following environmental exposure may be obtained
from the composite wedge test by measuring the final crack length. Additionally, an estimate of the fracture
toughness of the adhesive bondline at room temperature/ambient conditions may be obtained by using the
crack length prior to environmental exposure in the above equation.

Note that the use of the above equation requires that the adherend flexural stiffness Ef and thickness t must be
measured. An alternative approach is to write the above equation for GC in terms of the flexural rigidity Ef I
producing

where b is the specimen width. In-situ measurements of the flexural rigidity, Ef I, may be obtained using
representative wedge test specimens subjected to DCB-type loading following wedge testing. The slope of the
load versus deflection curve, ∆P/∆δ, corresponding to the measured final crack length a, is used to calculate the
flexural rigidity, Ef I, using the equation

Using this methodology, GC values obtained from adhesively bonded, carbon fiber/epoxy composite wedge test
specimens were found to be relatively constant across adherend thicknesses and laminate ply orientations
producing Ef I values that vary by 250% (Fig. 3). These results suggest that wedge testing may be performed
using composite specimens with differing adherend flexural rigidities and the results compared directly.

In summary, the composite wedge test appears to be a well-suited test method for evaluating the durability of
bonded composite materials. As with the ASTM D3762 metal wedge test, the procedure is simple to perform and
multiple specimens can be tested concurrently without the use of mechanical testing equipment. The
development of a standardized test method for the composite wedge test is currently in its initial stages. For
additional information, please contact me at dan@wyomingtestfixtures.com.

References

1
ASTM D5528-13, “Standard Test Method for Mode I Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of Unidirectional Fiber-
Reinforced Polymer Matrix Composites,” ASTM International (W. Conshohocken, PA, US), 2013 (first issued in
1994).

2
ASTM D3762-03(2010), “Standard Test Method for Adhesive-Bonded Surface Durability of Aluminum (Wedge
Test),” ASTM International (W. Conshohocken, PA, US), 2010 (revision in progress).

3
Child, C.L., Adams, D.O., and DeVries, K.L., "Wedge Test Method Improvements for Assessing the Durability of
Adhesively Bonded Joints," proceedings of SAMPE 2013, Long Beach, CA, May 6-9, 2013.

4
Davis, M.J., and McGregor, A. “Assessing Adhesive Bond Failures: Mixed-Mode Bond Failures Explained,” ISASI
Australian Safety Seminar, Canberra, 4-6 June 2010.

5
Bardis, J. D. and Kedward, K. T., “Effects of Surface Preparation on the Long-Term Durability of Adhesively
Bonded Composite Joints,” FAA Technical Report  DOT/FAA/AR-03/53, January 2004.

6
McCartin H.M., Ricsi, D.M., Brown, N.C., Adams, D.O., and Devries, K.L., “Environmental Durability Assessment
of Composite Bonded Joints Using the Wedge Test,” CAMX 2016, Anaheim, CA, September 26-29, 2016.

7
Creton, C., Kramer, E.J., Chung, Y.H., and Brown, H.R., “Failure Mechanisms of Polymer Interfaces Reinforced
with Block Copolymers,” Macromolecules, Vol. 25, 1992, pp. 3075-3088.

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4/21/2021 | 6 MINUTE READ

MARKETS | AUTOMOTIVE | PROCESSES | FILAMENT WINDING

Increasing demand for composite driveshafts leads to

automated production
California-based fabricator ACPT Inc. worked with machine suppliers to build an
innovative semi-automated production line featuring an automated filament winder.
#workinprogress #automation

ACPT’s carbon fiber composite driveshafts are used in a range of industries. Photo credit, all images: Roth Composite Machinery

For years, composites fabricator Advanced Composites Products & Technology Inc. (ACPT, Huntington Beach,
Calif., U.S.) has worked diligently to develop and perfect its design for carbon fiber composite driveshafts —
carbon fiber composite or metal tubes connecting the front and rear parts of the drivetrain underneath most
vehicles. Though first used in the automotive sector, these versatile components are also widely used for
marine, commercial, wind, defense, aerospace and industrial applications, and ACPT has seen the demand for
carbon fiber composite driveshafts grow steadily over the years. As demand has continued to increase, ACPT
recognized a need to manufacture larger quantities of driveshafts — hundreds of the same shaft per week —
with greater manufacturing efficiency, leading to new innovations in automation, and ultimately a new facility.

The reason for increased driveshaft demand, ACPT says, is due to carbon fiber driveshafts’ unique blend of
capabilities compared to their metallic counterparts, such as higher torque capacity, higher RPM capability,
better reliability, lighter weight, increased safety due to an inclination to break down into relatively harmless
carbon fibers upon high impact and reduced noise, vibration and harshness (NVH).

In addition, compared to conventional steel driveshafts, carbon fiber driveshafts in cars and trucks are
reported to increase a vehicle’s rear-wheel horsepower by more than 5%, due primarily to the composite
having a lighter rotational mass. A lightweight carbon fiber driveshaft absorbs more shock and has a higher

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torque capacity than steel, allowing more engine power to be transferred to the wheels without the tires
spinning out or separating from the pavement.

For years, ACPT has produced its carbon fiber composite drive shafts via filament winding at its California
facility. To scale up to the required levels would required increasing facility size, improving production
equipment and streamlining process control and quality inspection by shifting responsibility as much as
possible from human technicians to an automated process. To achieve these goals, ACPT decided to build a
second production facility, and to equip it with higher levels of automation.

ACPT DRIVESHAFTS
ACPT located this new production facility in Schofield, Wis., U.S., to minimize disruption in driveshaft
production during the 1.5-year process of designing, building, procuring and installing the new plant and
production equipment, with 10 months dedicated to construction, delivery and installation of an automated
filament winding system.

Each step of the process for producing a composite driveshaft was evaluated for automation: filament winding,
resin content and wetout control, oven cure (including time and temperature controls), part extraction from
the mandrel and handling of mandrels to and from each step of the process. An overhead or floor-mounted
gantry automation system, however, was rejected as an option, both for budgetary reasons and ACPT’s need for
a less permanent, moveable system to allow for limited-quantity R&D trials when necessary.

 
Two-part, semi-automated production system
After consulting with several suppliers, the resulting solution is a two-part production system: a Type 1, two-
spindle automated filament winding system with multiple winding carriages from Roth Composite Machinery
(Steffenburg, Germany); and, rather than an immobile mounted automation system, a semi-automated mandrel
handling system designed by Globe Machine Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma, Wash., U.S.).

An illustration of the automated filament winding process that Roth developed for ACPT.

ACPT says one of the main advantages and requirements of the Roth filament winding system, which is
designed to allow two spindles to simultaneously produce parts, was its proven automation capabilities. This
was especially important given that ACPT’s proprietary driveshafts require multiple material changes. To
automate manual cutting, stringing and reattaching of different fibers for each material change, Roth’s roving
cut and attach (RCA) feature enables the winding machine to automatically change materials with its multiple
manufacturing carriages. The Roth resin bath and fiber tensioning techniques also provided the ability to
ensure precise fiber to resin wetout ratios without oversaturation, enabling the winding machine to operate
faster than conventional winders without excess resin waste. Once winding is complete, the winder
automatically disconnects the mandrel and part from the winding machine.

The winding system itself is automated, but that still leaves a large portion of handling and movement of
mandrels between each manufacturing step, each of which was previously done manually. This includes
preparing bare mandrels and attaching them to the winder, moving mandrels with wound parts to the oven for
cure, moving mandrels with cured parts and extracting parts from the mandrel. As a solution, Globe Machine
Manufacturing Co. developed a process involving a family of carts designed to accommodate mandrels that sit
on the cart. A rotation system within the cart serves to position the mandrels for transfer in and out of the
winder and extractor and to rotate continuously while parts are wet with resin and during oven cure.

These mandrel carts move from station to station, aided by two sets of floor-mounted transfer arms — one set
at the winder and one set at an integrated extractor system — that coordinate motion with the mandrel carts,
and pick-and-place mandrels for each process. Custom chucks on the carts automatically clamp and release the
mandrels, which coordinate with the automated chucks on the Roth machine. 

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Along with this mandrel transfer system, Globe also provided two curing ovens. After cure and mandrel
extraction, parts are transferred to a precision-length cutter and then a CNC system for machining of tube ends,
followed by cleaning and application of adhesive with pressed fitting attachments. Torque tests, quality
assurance and product tracking are completed prior to packing and shipping for the end-use customer.

One important aspect of the process, according to ACPT, is that it is able to track and log data such as facility
temperatures, humidity levels, fiber tensions, fiber speeds and resin temperatures for each winding set. The
information is stored for use in product quality inspection systems or production tracking and can enable the
operator to make adjustments to the production conditions if necessary.

The overall process developed by Globe is described as “semi-automated” because human operators are still
needed to press buttons to initiate process sequences, and to manually move the carts into and out of the ovens.
According to ACPT, Globe envisions an even higher degree of automation for this system in the future.

The Roth system includes two spindles and three separate winding carriages. Each winding carriage is designed for the delivery of different
composite materials automatically. Composite materials are applied simultaneously to both spindles.

After the first year of production at the new facility, ACPT reports that the equipment has successfully
demonstrated the ability to meet its volume goals while providing labor and material savings and a consistently
high-quality product. The company hopes to work with Globe and Roth again for future automation projects.

For further information, please reach out to Ryan Clampitt, president of ACPT (rclamptt@acpt.com), Joseph
Jansen, national sales manager at Roth Composite Machinery (joej@roth-usa.com) or Jim Martin, director of
advanced composite equipment at Globe Machine Manufacturing Co. (JimM@globemachine.com).

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Durability testing of adhesively bonded

composites

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