An investigation into the crack initiation and propagation behaviour of bonded single-lap joints using backface strain

In this paper, the backface strain (BFS) measurement technique is used to characterise fatigue damage in single-lap adhesive joints subjected to constant amplitude fatigue loading. Different regions in the BFS plots are correlated with damage in the joints through microscopic characterisation of damage and cracking in partially fatigued joints and comparison with 3D finite element analysis (FEA) of various crack growth scenarios. Crack...