Measuring the static shear strength of anaerobic adhesives in finite thickness under high pressure

Although anaerobic adhesives are extensively used in addition to mechanical tightening in flanged couplings, interference fits, and threaded connections, their constitutive behaviour still needs to be investigated. According to the micromechanical model proposed by Dragoni and Mauri [Proc. of the IMECHE Part L J. of Mat.: Des. and Appl. 2002; 216: 9–15], the shear strength of the anaerobic adhesives significantly improves with the contact pressure applied to the thin adhesive layer. In order to assess this hypothesis, this work investigates the shear strength of an anaerobic adhesive layer with finite thickness and surface area, subject to a nearly-uniform contact pressure, up to 1000 MPa. The tests involved a head to head bonded specimen, made of high strength steel adherends (39NiCrMo3), with a controlled roughness on the bonding surfaces. Both a weak and a strong anaerobic adhesive (Loctite 243 and Loctite 638) are investigated. A full-field technique, such as the Digital Image Correlation, was used in order to detect the 3D displacement and strain fields, and to evaluate the twist angle of the entire external surface, with particular attention to the interface area. The preliminary results prove the reliability of the test bench and confirms the piezo-resistive response of the anaerobic adhesive.