Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R23855/01
Title:	Measuring, Modelling & Predicting the Performance of Engineering Adhesives & Bonded Structures
Principal Investigator:	Kinloch, Professor A
Other Investigators:	Ivankovic, Professor A Williams, Ms SJ
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Mechanical Engineering
Organisation:	Imperial College London
Scheme:	Platform Grants (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 April 2001	Ends:	31 March 2005	Value (£):	406,661
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials testing & eng.
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Aerospace, Defence and Marine
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The 'Adhesion and Adhesives Group' at Imperial College is basically concerned with measuring, modelling and predicting the performance of engineering adhesives and bonded joints, components and structures -and it is a world-leader in these areas. The current grant is for a Platform Grant to enable us to undertake underpinning, basic research in the area of fracture mechanics of engineering adhesives and adhesive joints. One major thrust of the underpinning research is to be able to obtain sound and valid values of the adhesive fracture energy, Gc, from commonly used test methods, such as peel and impact tests where extensive plastic deformation occurs, and over a range of tensile and shear loadings. A second major aim is to develop validated 'cohesive zone models' ('CZMs'), which may then be coupled together with a finite element analysis (FEA) or finite volume (FV) analysis; where the Gc values needed in the 'CZM' may now be deduced from the test methods such as the peel test. We will validate the optimised FEA/'CZM' and FV/'CZM' approaches by employing them to predict the behaviour of some representative test joints under impact and cyclic-fatigue loading, and where the joints are also exposed to a hostile environment. The underpinning research is designed to feed into the applications research areas, and the research from both these areas will lead to the deliverables of test protocols and standards, design and service-life guides and validated predictive models which may be directly used in industrial applications.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.imperial.ac.uk