DOCUMENTATION / END USERS
Practical instructions for engineers and analysts running fatigue-life studies in BondLife.
BondLife is a free Windows desktop application for bonded-joint fatigue life prediction.
The installer bundles all required Qt 6.11 runtime DLLs — no separate Qt installation needed. After installation, launch BondLife from the Start Menu or desktop shortcut.
The desktop application includes an embedded manual in the Help dialog. Use this website page as a concise operational guide and onboarding reference.
Use New Project or Open Project first. Most actions are gated until an active project exists.
Select an Abaqus report (.rpt) or CSV/TXT file in the analysis step, then process the file to populate table previews.
Choose Antelo, Cavdar, or Sousa and provide valid numeric parameters along with F_FEA and F_real.
Run deterministic life prediction and inspect critical node, sigma terms, and Nf values in outputs and charts.
Export per-node results to CSV and generate report snapshots for downstream engineering communication.
Create or open a project before selecting files, running analysis, calibration, or exports.
Verify the report contains stress tables and node fields expected by BondLife. Try selecting a different table/part.
Check that model parameters, F_FEA, and F_real are numeric and physically valid (positive where required).
Provide all three Arcan RPT files plus a CSV containing mode, force, and Nexp columns.
Common questions about file formats, analysis errors, and model behaviour.
BondLife reads Abaqus field-output reports (.rpt) and plain-text stress tables (.txt, .csv). The .rpt file must contain at minimum: Node Label, S.Mises, S.S11, S.S22, S.S33, S.S12, and X/Y coordinates for each node in the adhesive layer.
The most common cause is a mismatch in part/instance name. BondLife looks for the adhesive instance label (e.g. INST_ADESIVO or CAMADA_ADESIVO). Open the .rpt in a text editor, locate the header block, and enter the exact instance name in the Part Name field before importing.
Use Antelo if you have Arcan Mode I/II/Mixed test data — it is the most validated model in the codebase. Use Cavdar or Sousa if your calibration dataset covers TAST, Butt Joint, and AJS-45 joint types. When in doubt, run all three and compare Nf at the critical node. See the Fatigue Models documentation for full formulas and parameter definitions.
F_FEA is the force (in kN) at which your Abaqus simulation was run — typically 1 kN for a unit-load model. F_real is the actual applied load for the fatigue test you are predicting. BondLife scales σ_eff linearly: σ_eff(F_real) = σ_eff(F_FEA) × (F_real / F_FEA).
Check three things: (1) confirm F_FEA matches the load used in your Abaqus job; (2) verify the model parameters (α, β, γ) were calibrated against data in the same stress units as the .rpt file; (3) ensure the critical node is in the adhesive layer — selecting the wrong part produces wrong stress values.
Calibration finds the model-specific parameter (γ for Antelo; c for Cavdar/Sousa) that minimises the root-mean-square deviation between BondLife's predicted Nf values and your experimental Nf data. You need at least three data points (one per Arcan mode or joint type). The result is a Basquin master curve for your adhesive.
Yes. Export a field-output report from any 3D mesh exactly as you would for 2D — BondLife reads node coordinates and stress components regardless of mesh dimensionality. Ensure the adhesive layer nodes are isolated in their own node set or instance before exporting.
Projects are saved to the folder you choose during project creation. Results (CSV exports, PDF reports) are written to the same project folder by default. BondLife does not use a centralised database — all data stays in the project directory.
