Evaluation of Adhesive Joining Systems in Aluminum Box Beams

Experiments have been carried out on the collapse behavior, the energy absorption and the flexural stiffness of adhesively bonded, spot-welded and weld-bonded aluminum box structural assemblies and the results compared with those for equivalent spot-welded mild steel structures. It has been found that weld-bonded aluminum box beams can exhibit specific energy absorptions that are three times greater than those for the mild steel beams and, hence, show that aluminum vehicle structures which typically can be built at about half the weight of steel structures, should nevertheless have more than adequate impact resistance. In flexural testing, the results suggest that the overall stiffness improvements of bonded structures may be a combination of improved beam stiffness, and superior connections between structural elements.