POA * ONLINE SUBSCRIPTION ONLY

ESDU 79016 introduces a computer program in Fortran that yields the stress and strain distributions in multistep configuration joints. It is based on a shear lag analysis and is concerned with the internal cohesion of the adhesive rather than with its adhesion to the adherends. It does not consider joint bending or stress concentrations in the adherends and it is relevant to joints where normal tension (peel) and bending effects are small, for example balanced double lap joints with rigid adherends rather than single lap joints or flexible double lap joints for which it underestimates the stresses. The data input and output are explained with examples, test cases are provided, a comparison is made of the results obtained with experimental data, and graphs constructed using the program illustrate the effects of changing geometry, loading and the adherend material. The program is available in two formats (a) a Fortran source code with example input and output files, and (b) an executable program for PC's. A computer program for the elastic analysis of flexible multistep joints is available with ESDU 80039.