Structural adhesives are recognized by the automotive industry as a powerful alternative solution to traditional fastening methods such as welding or riveting. As a new technological solution, they introduce requirements in terms of the evaluation of their mechanical performance. In particular, enhanced safety guarantee requires not only to know the material performance in standard laboratory tests but to be able to predict it under real conditions, in particular for complex shaped parts. This may be done by finite element simulation. Nevertheless, the small thickness and the specific material behavior of the joint make modeling difficult using available numerical tools. This work focuses on the assessment of structural adhesive joints up to their maximal strength using finite element analysis. A complete methodology is proposed which addresses the implementation of a specific non-linear elasto-plastic material constitutive model which is accurate to describe the joint behavior under multi-axial loadings. Experimental tests and an original strategy for the identification of material parameters based on inverse identification are proposed. Finally computational efficiency is addressed using specific interface elements which makes the constitutive model convenient for the simulation of large industrial problems. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2010