Stress Distribution and Design Data for Adhesive Lap Joints Between Circular Tubes

This paper presents stress distributions for 48 adhesive lap joints between thin circular tubes loaded in tension. The adhesive is treated as a thin elastic layer, much more flexible than the adherends, so that the analysis applies primarily to the bonding of metals and plastics. Ordinary thin-shell theory is used for the adherends. The basic theory and the calculated adhesive shear and normal stresses are given, and the significant principal stresses are discussed. The influence of the various system parameters, notably the tube curvature, is considered in some detail, and a comparison is made with previous flat lap-joint results. The applicability of the theory in joint design also is treated.