Edited by: Lucas F. M. da Silva (University of Porto, Portugal) and Robert D. Adams (University of Oxford, UK)
In order to increase transport efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and contaminant emissions, weight reduction coupled with improvement of the safety performance of candidate materials must be achieved. This drive for higher-performance systems has resulted in the development of a new range of hybrid structures and materials. Multimaterial structures such as aircraft, boats, cars and railcars use several types of materials, such as steel, aluminium, magnesium, fibre-reinforced plastics and sandwich structures. Welding is simply impossible to use when metal/composite hybrid structures are involved for obvious reasons, and rivets or screws introduce stress concentrations and offer poor fatigue strength. Adhesive bonding is generally the preferred method because it allows more flexibility in the design, it is more efficient in mechanical and energy aspects and it is more corrosion resistant.
This collection of papers in Applied Adhesion Science covers advances in these topics.
New articles will be added to the collection as they are published - be sure to check back regularly!