7 - Joining Structures

Chapter 7
Joining Structures
Adhesive Joints
The joining problem arises when we must connect large separate structures like upper and lower fuselage halves or spar assemblies into a wing, where there may be small gaps and misalignments. We use adhesive materials to join the large structural subassemblies that are assembled to make a composite aircraft. One particular advantage of composite materials is that we can safely obtain really good long-term performance from bonded composite joints, using simple techniques available to the home builder.
In contrast, we see that the mainstream aircraft industry has successfully used bonded metal structures since WWII, but has required complex chemical treatments and extraordinary cleanliness to achieve reliability. With aluminum, this is because the chemically active surface reacts with air to form a soft oxide which is far weaker than the bulk metal. Reliable bonding techniques require that this oxide be removed and kept off during the bonding operation. It can be done in a homebuilt environment, but the work is hard to inspect and the consequences of spectacular failure are most unattractive.

Basic Requirements of an Adhesive

Remembering the "puzzle" at the beginning of Chapter 2, consider what is required to make an overlapping lap joint between three smooth rectangular blocks. We'll use a matched pair of adhesive joints so that the system will be perfectly balanced - no question of anything other than pure shear forces on the joints. See the sketch following. Now suppose that the blocks to be joined were - say - automobile tire tread rubber and that the adhesive is "really strong stuff" that has the physical characteristics of steel. Stress this specimen in a test machine. What happens'?
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Understanding Aircraft Composite Construction

Blocks to Be Joined (The "Adherends")

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Adhesive Lines Adhesive Test

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The joints break progressively along the adhesive lines at the rubber face. See that as the stress is applied, the rubber at the edge of the joint stretches (strains). The stiff "steel" glue does not produce much strain, so the attached rubber (which must have the same strain) cannot develop much reaction force. The rubber at a distance from the joint indeed stretches. The result is an extreme stress concentration which works like a zipper to peel the rubber right out of the joint. This is called adhesive failure, because the glue and the "adherend" separated. Now reverse the properties of the two materials. Let the blocks be steel and let the adhesive have the properties of automobile tread. Apply a stress. The steel strains (but not much). At the "glue" joint, the "rubber" must strain sufficiently to generate a shear stress which produces a force equal to the total load. Given that the area of the glued joint is large relative to the cross-sectional area of the steel, quite a large total shear force can be transmitted, perhaps more than the steel can carry. In fact, a rubber-like material might be quite a practical adhesive for this application. Assuming that the total strength of the adhesive is actually less than the strength of the steel, if the test force were increased to failure we would see cohesive failure, or failure within the material of the glue joint. With sufficient bonded area, the steel part of the specimen would fail first.

Joining Wood
We don't see much wood used in highly stressed structures in composite designs, but we do see it used as a sandwich core material and as a support for molds. Some builders still prefer it to other materials for primary structures in spite of the previously discussed disadvantages.
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7 - Joining Structures
Wood has been used for aircraft since the Wright brothers and a great amount of published standard practice has evolved. Wood was used in WW II when aluminum was in very short supply and appropriate wood production facilities existed. (Remember the Mosquito bomber.) Modern glues are available which are far more environmentally stable than the woods they are to join. (It will be assumed here that a builder who intends to use wood as primary structure in her aircraft will go to published sources for wood adhesive techniques!)

The matrix resins used in composite layups can be good adhesives, but the low viscosity that allows them to penetrate a layup also makes them squeeze out of a joint if much pressure is used to force alignment, as it often is. A little bit of micro (glass beads) can be added as a filler to set a minimum thickness for the glue line. Also, the moisture inevitably present in wood may reduce the properties of the epoxy. A matrix resin may be stiffer than ideal, as discussed above, but the compromise may be acceptable. (See the section below on the Secondary Bond.) While it is convenient for the composite homebuilder who is using his matrix material for practically everything in the shop to use it for wood glue, too, if the application is critical it may be better to go to formulations intended for marine use. The West System materials are primarily sold as water-resistant marine adhesives, but are offered by the aircraft supply houses.

Joining Formed Composite Structures

The butt joint is the simplest way to join two composite structures. The two structures are brought together, held accurately in position, and essentially "repaired" to make a new continuous structure, as shown on the next page. To make a butt joint for a sandwich structure, we essentially replace the missing or damaged core material and add new skin material sufficient to carry the required stress across the joint. As shown, the added skin material should be tapered to avoid stress concentration near the joint. The single-skin case is similar, except that there is no core to fill. (We assume that a single skin structure is not required to carry bending stress, but will only receive stress in the plane of the surface.)

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Understanding Aircraft Composite Construction

Three Layers of Skin Material (Tapered Thickness to Avoid Stress Concentration)

Core

Original Skin

Filled Core at Joint

Simple Butt Joint - Core and Single Skin Cases

The simple butt joint has three important disadvantages: (1) The sketch exaggerates the thickness of the added skin, but this method usually makes a noticeable bulge in the finished surface, and (2) it requires full access to both sides of the joint (which might be difficult in a fuselage tail cone), and (3) requires that the parts be located very accurately. Where it is practical to cut away some core material before laying up the skin, the core material may be recessed near the joint and the joining doubler may be placed in the recess, as shown below.
Tapered Core for Surface Relief Facing Skins Core (No Taper Here) Filled Core At Joint Area Doublers

Simple Butt Joint With Relieved Surface The disadvantage of requiring full access to both sides of the joint remains: essentially, the builder must do a complete layup on both sides
to make the joint, which is often impractical for a long structure.

The tapered core lap joint shown on the next page mostly avoids these disadvantages and is typical of the method generally provided by composite kit manufacturers. 102

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7 - Joining Structures
Skin Core Adhesive Line Low Density Fill

Tapered Core Lap Joint

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Adhesive Line

Low Density Fill

One Doubler Layer

Single Layer Joggle Joint The previous illustration shows the case where an additional doubler skin layer has been added to each of the joined sections to strengthen the joint where the core is tapered. See that the technique provides a very large adhesive area to make a very secure joint. To assemble, the joint may be clamped or held with a line of "pop" rivets until cured. (After cure, the pop rivets can be drilled out and the holes filled, with negligible loss of strength.) Alternatively, this joint can be made removable by using bolts to hold the structures together. (If bolts are used, care must be taken that adequate bushings and washers are provided to avoid crushing the lap area at the bolt holes. See the section following on bushings.) The precision molded sandwich structures offered by the kit manufacturers always provide for bonding areas to join the parts. Often, the edges of a structure are made with the core tapered to zero thickness and the inner and outer skins brought together to form a single smooth surface area for bonding. If necessary, the designer may specify additional reinforcing layers at the transition between the sandwich skin and the joint. The corresponding mating structure will then have the joint joggle in the opposite direction so that the two parts fit together to give a smooth outer surface. (Here, the similarity to the toy plastic snap-together models is quite apparent.) Where it is not practical to apply significant bonding pressure, adhesives such as Hysol 9330.3 or 3M "Scotchweld" 2216 A/B Gray are used, held in place by Clecos or by pop rivets. Again, the builder should make all joints using the methods and matrials recommended by the original designer. 103

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