Bond behavior of CFRP-steel double-lap joints exposed to marine atmosphere and fatigue loading

External bonding with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been considered great potential in fatigue strengthening of defected steel components. Generally, it takes one to two weeks for a structural adhesive to achieve full strength in such a repair scheme. The potential risk of an environmental attack at the curing stage of adhesive has not been well understood. This paper presents an experimental study on the interfacial behavior of CFRP-steel double-lap joints subjected to salt fog spray or high relative humidity (RH) at the curing stage. Afterwards, the specimens were statically loaded to failure or applied by a pre-set number of fatigue cycles followed by a static test. CFRP laminate-patched specimens had the ability to resist six million high-stress range cycles while CFRP sheet-patched specimens only survived two million low-stress range cycles. After environmental exposure and fatigue loading, the bond strength loss ranged from 1% to 11%. Proper silane treatment was promising to maintain both the strength and stiffness of the bonded joints. Exposure to the harsh environment at the curing stage was detrimental to the mechanical properties of the structural adhesive Araldite 420. The unfavorable effects on the elastic modulus and ultimate strain were comparable to that of long-term exposure for well cured structural adhesive.