The designer's dilemma: How to deal with the uncertainty about the long-term performance of adhesively bonded joints

Abstract

This paper discusses a new approach to dealing with the dilemma that many designers of bonded joints face. They cannot demonstrate the required long-term performance of their bonded joints. At the same time there are no practical applications of bonded joints to build up in-service experience of load-carrying adhesively bonded joints in shipbuilding.