Experimental investigation of the mechanical behaviour of spot welding–adhesives joints

Hybrid joints can be obtained by the use of two or more techniques to attach two materials. Compared to the common welding methods, adhesive bonding has many advantages such as simplified process, favourable fatigue properties, and the ability to join dissimilar metals. However, some adhesive joints presented adverse behavior in different temperatures, become brittle at low temperatures and have a low strength at high temperatures, thus limiting the use of adhesive bonding in many applications. Weld bonding as a hybrid welding method combines welding and adhesive bonding to join many metals. This work presents experimental procedures to compare the mechanical response of weld bonding joints to the effectiveness of classical weld joints and bonded joints. The experimental procedures were composed by tests with: spot welding joints without adhesive, single lap bonded joints and hybrid joints combining both joining techniques – spot welding and adhesive bonding. The results show excellent performance for hybrid joints.