Examensarbete. In - service Fatigue Life Behavior Of Adhesive Joints For Chassis Application

Master Thesis Opportunity

Gestamp R&D in Luleå is part of the global Gestamp group which develops press hardened components for the automotive industry. Gestamp's R&D office in Luleå currently employs around 65 engineers.

Product development work is performed in close collaboration with our clients where physical testing, finite element analysis and external customer visits is a part of the daily working routines. Validation of crash performance is done in our testing facility in Luleå where tests utilizing a crash cart, drop or pendulum tower in speeds up to 50 km/h are used as well as hydraulic equipment for static testing.

The use of adhesives in structural joints as an alternative to traditional joining techniques, such as welding and rivets, is becoming increasingly popular in the transportation industry. This trend is driven especially by the increasing need and focus on greener ways of transportation and the consequent light weighting requirements. Therefore, adhesive joining is particularly important for composite materials and structures with hybrid material solutions.

The key objective is to introduce structural adhesives into automotive chassis structures, allowing the adoption of multi-material solutions currently not possible using existing joining technologies.

The chassis joints and its loading conditions are complex. The fatigue testing of adhesive joints is vital for the automotive industry to ensure safety, reliability, and durability under constant, repeated stress, preventing costly failures and ensuring compliance with regulations for lightweight, multi-material structures.

By simulating the real-world conditions of vibration, temperature fluctuations, and various loads, fatigue testing helps predict a joint's lifespan, identify design flaws or material weaknesses early, and validate the performance of chosen adhesives and assembly processes.

The main purpose of this thesis is to test adhesive joints in different in-service conditions (e.g. loading regimes, temperatures, etc) and to investigate the possible modelling approaches to be used for fatigue life prediction.

Execution

• Literature study – Fatigue life prediction and testing of adhesive joints (mechanical and thermal)
• Experimental work – Samples preparation and Testing.
• Analytical work – Selection of material model for failure prediction in fatigue.
• Evaluation – Evaluate the experimental results.
• Documentation – Work should be documented in a report.
• Presentation – Oral presentation and poster delivered by the end of the project.

You are probably studying Mechanical Engineering, Material Science engineering or an equivalent program.

Estimated Duration and logistics of the project

Scope: 30 hp starting Q1 2026 (ECTS – corresponding roughly 5 months full time). The student will be hosted at Gestamp and work will be performed in collaboration with Division of Materials Science at LTU, Prof. R. Joffe (Polymeric Composite Materials) will be an examiner of the thesis.

An economic compensation will be handed out by Gestamp after the thesis is complete (more information about this will be provided during the interview).

We're looking forward for your application. If you have any questions regarding the Master thesis or Gestamp feel free to contact us.

Hana Zrida

+46 (0) 920-47 40 57

hzrida@se.gestamp.com