Effect of the structural reinforcement of composite adherends on the mechanical strength of adhesive joints

This study proposes a novel method to strengthen fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) adherends in a single lap joint (SLJ) by using Kevlar threads. The adherend reinforcement procedure consists of applying a zigzag thread in the fiber glass layers that comprise the adherend in order to subsequently manufacture the adherends using the vacuum infusion method. For this study, three single lap joint configurations were used: Adherends without Kevlar reinforcement (SLJ1), adherends with Kevlar reinforcement with a medium step zigzag (SLJ2) and adherends with Kevlar reinforcement with a small step zigzag (SLJ3). Mechanical tensile tests were carried out to determine the ultimate strength and displacement of the single lap joint configurations studied. Adherends reinforced by Kevlar threads increase the strength and displacement of the single lap joint. However, the influence of the step size of zigzag threads on the adherend does not significantly influence the strength, but significantly affects the maximum displacement of the single lap joint.