BY

Adhesive bonding is used in many structural applications such as aircraft and aerospace industries due to its low-weight and fatigue-resistance and capability to attach dissimilar materials. One shortcoming of using adhesively bonded joints is that in most cases the bonded joint is the ‘weakest link ’ of the structure and has inferior strength compared to other components, thus, limiting the overall load carrying capacity of the structural system. In this study, we examined the strength, energy absorption and failure of bonded joints with non-flat interfaces. Single lap bonded joints with different zig-zag shaped (dented) interfaces were fabricated and their response under uniaxial tension was compared with the response of a single lap joint with traditional flat interface. In the experiments, the yield stress, ultimate tensile stress, maximum elongation and energy absorption were obtained and compared in the different types of bonded joint. It was shown that these structural properties vary greatly by changing the topology of the adhesive-adherent interface, promising unique potential applications for each of the configurations studied. In the next step, w