Durability of an adhesively bonded joint between steel ship hull and sandwich superstructure pre-exposed to saline environment

This paper outlines an experimental investigation into the durability of large-scale adhesively bonded joints with a thick layer of methyl methacrylate adhesive (MMA). Ageing has been performed by immersion in a 3.5 wt% NaCl solution for 10 weeks at 50°C. Two aged and one unaged specimen were subjected to tensile testing, and three aged and one unaged specimen were loaded up to ~ 3.5 million fatigue cycles followed by a residual tensile test. The ductility of the adhesive is affected by ageing and fatigue testing. Despite a decrease in ductility, the plastic zone development was adequate for the required strain redistribution without compromising the joint performance (strength and stiffness) demonstrating the fatigue tolerance of the joint. The shear, longitudinal, and peel strain values in the adhesive bulk are evaluated by digital image correlation. The shear strength values are significantly higher than the requirements following from the design. All specimens failed by sudden delamination of the composite plate. Post-mortem analysis showed no corrosion travel at the interface of steel and adhesive.