Abstract
Consideration are presented on the adoption of adhesive joint technology for the assemblage of thin walled beam structures. At first the joint design problem is discussed. It is pointed out that, in order to gain the maximum advantage from the adhesive joint technology, a joint geometry different from the classical one, specifically thought for the spot weld assemblage, has to be defined. The simple extension of the adhesive layer to fill also the fillet zone can lead to significant increment in the joint strength. The robustness of the adhesive joint solution has been further discussed against possible manufacturing process defects. In the second part of the paper the axial crushing behaviour of a single hat section beam has been studied, establishing a comparison between the structural performance of beam assembled by the classical spot weld technology and beam assembled by Loctite 330 adhesive bond technology. Results have been presented in terms of force-displacement and absorbed energy-displacement diagrams. The comparison between these characteristic curves points out the very interesting structural performance of the Loctite 330 adhesive bonded joint assembly, evidently better than the traditional spot welding assembly performance. Of particular relevance is the increment +45% of the energy absorbed by the beam during its collapse.