Development of a Creep Mechanical Frame Setting Based on Arcan Test

Structural adhesive bonding has several advantages compared to other assembly techniques such as welding and riveting. Yet, creep is an important long-term phenomenon that needs to be considered for the design of such joints. To investigate this aspect, experimental investigations are needed at the scale of the adhesive layer. At such a scale, Arcan setting presents several advantages compared to other existing tests (analysis of different loads, limited edge effects) and was thus chosen for the development of an experimental approach aiming at providing creep characterization of adhesive layers. A mechanically operated testing machine was thus developed and is presented herein. To measure local strains of the adhesive layer, two linear variable differential transformer sensors are fixed on a support placed on the beaks of the Arcan sample according to two directions: normal and tangential to the bonded surface. The developed system (mechanical system and strain measurement) proved to be successful in investigating the creep behavior of adhesive layers while varying several parameters (load levels, type of load, temperature, adhesive thickness).