EFFECTS OF WC, SiC, IRON AND GLASS FILLERS AND THEIR HIGH PERCENTAGE CONTENT ON ADHESIVE BOND STRENGTH OF AN ALUMINIUM ALLOY BUTT JOINT: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Abstract

Improving of epoxy adhesive tensile joint strength is a major interest relevant to many industries. In this study, four types of fillers were chosen (tungsten carbide, silicon carbide, iron, and glass). Fillers were in the form of powder with a particle size of 140 μm. Adherents were 6061-T6 aluminium alloys fabricated according to ASTM D 2094-00 (2014). Bonding surfaces were prepared by grinding using 400 grit emery paper. The surfaces were then chemically etched using CSA solution. Two distance copper wires were used per specimen having a diameter of 180 μm. Five replicas per adhesive condition were adopted. Four volume filler fractions were chosen (10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%). A comparison of average tensile adhesive joint strength was made between the reference (no filler specimen) and other fillers. It was concluded that SiC and iron fillers had negative results on the joint strength, with the worse results occurring at high fractions. Glass with low fractions slightly enhanced the joint strength but showed negative results when the volume fraction was increased. Tungsten carbide showed a slight improvement at 10% fraction, but a major improvement was achieved. In particular, at 20% fraction the strength was enhanced by 41.33%.