Investigation of fracture behavior of nanostructure added under ambient temperature and thermal cycling

Due to their great advantages, adhesively bonded joints are frequently used in many areas like automotive, marine, space and aerospace industries. Especially findings from nanoscience and nanotechnology, which have progressed significantly in recent years, influence adhesives sciences significantly as well as other disciplines. In this study, the fracture behavior of nanocomposite adhesives produced by adding nanostructure in to the adhesives were investigated using Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) test under ambient temperature and thermal cycle conditions. Adhesively bonded DCB joints were produced using DP460 toughened adhesive type and DP125 flexible adhesive type as the adhesives; AA2024-T3 aluminum alloy was used as the adherend, and 1 wt.% Graphene-COOH, Carbon Nanotube-COOH and Fullerene C60 were used as the added nanostructures. As a result, when the experimental fracture energy was examined, the nanocomposite adhesives obtained by adding nanostructure were found to have increased the fracture energy of the joint. Also, it was observed that there is a significant difference between the displacements that were obtained directly from the test machines stroke and measured via video extensometer giving the crack opening between the top and bottom adherends during the DCB test. This situation significantly effects the correct calculation of the fracture energy of adhesive.