ASTM D3166 Fatigue Properties of Adhesives in Shear by Tension Loading 

ASTM D3166 is a standard method for evaluating the fatigue strength of adhesives in shear by tension loading, intended to define structural adhesives on a specific metallic substrate, using standardized specimens under specified conditions. While this test method is designed for metal-to-metal applications, it can also be used to measure the fatigue properties of adhesives with plastic adherends if the thickness of the plastic adherends is taken into account. ASTM D3166 (Standard Test Method for Fatigue Properties of Adhesives in Shear by Tension Loading (Metal/Metal) testing can be used to assess the fatigue performance of different adhesive systems or to compare them to the fatigue performance of joints created by other joining methods, utilizing simple joint geometries such as lap-shear or T-peel samples.

For ASTM D3166, the specimens are examined in an environment with a relative humidity of 50 ± 4% and a temperature of 23 ± 1.1 °C. The specimen is firmly gripped in the testing machine’s jaws. The cyclic load is applied in increments ranging from maximum to approximately 10% of maximum, and it is tested regularly.

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Each of the five specimens is subjected to five or more maximum loads, with failures occurring with regular spacing throughout a range of at least 10,000,000 to at least 2000 cycles. The number of cycles to failure, as well as the accompanying stresses in megapascals, are recorded. The measurements of the specimen bond are precise enough to calculate the area to the closest 0.6 mm.

ASTM D3166 is a standard method for evaluating the fatigue strength of adhesives in shear by tension loading, to define structural adhesives on a specific metallic substrate, using standardized specimens under specified conditions. In accordance with ASTM D3166, the location of failure (adhesive or joint material) and nature of failure, if in the adhesive, are reported for each specimen.

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