Improvement of Fracture Toughness of Stainless Steel Adhesive Joints at Cryogenic Temperature

Abstract

Film-type epoxy adhesive was reinforced with E-glass and polyester fiber mats to improve the fracture toughness of adhesive joints composed of austenite stainless steel adherends at the cryogenic temperature of -150 degrees C. To evaluate the fracture toughness and crack resistance of the stainless steel-epoxy adhesive joints, cleavage tests on the DCB (Double Cantilever Beam) adhesive joints were performed with respect to crack length and fiber volume fraction at the cryogenic temperature. From the experiments, it was found that the crack propagated in stable mode with significantly increased fracture toughness when the film-type epoxy adhesive was reinforced with the E-glass and polyester fiber mats. Also, optimum volume fractions for the E-glass and polyester fiber mats were suggested for the film-type epoxy adhesive in the adhesive joint subjected to the cryogenic temperature. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2012