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The paper presents the work on the development of a joint design approach for adhesively bonded and spot-welded aluminium automotive structures. The approach includes an allowance for joint geometric variables, manufacturing variability and complex joint loading. An important aspect in the development of the approach has been to minimise the detail required to model the joints in a full vehicle model. The paper describes the development of the joint design approach and identifies many of the joint variables which may influence joint performance. The accuracy of the approach is demonstrated on a simple structure subjected to complex loading, and the use of the approach is illustrated on a full vehicle structure.

The paper summarises work which has been carried out to establish the sensitivity of the Alcan AVT weld-bonding system to manufacturing process variability. The robustness of the joint-line to factors such as panel fit-up, bondline thickness, adhesive fillet size and missing adhesive is discussed and their effects demonstrated. Manufacturing factors, such as pretreatment damage during part forming and the cure-cycle window for the adhesive, are considered and their effects on performance are indicated. Finally the effect of a series of manufacturing shortfalls and environmental factors have been put together in one experiment and the resulting strength and fatigue performance of bonded joints has been established.