Modelling the shape of an adhesive joint during assembly

The use of structural adhesive bonding has increased in recent years for its comparatively superior properties. Recent advances in the technology aims to offer industrials a reliable process for bonding assemblies. One part of this project implies to simulate the shape of the adhesive, at the end of the docking process, which will be done using the Volume of Fluid method (VOF) implemented in OpenFoam ® , an open source CFD toolbox. In order to validate, the numerical model is then compared to analytical solutions for cylindrical models and will be further extended to more complex geometries.