Ductile failure analysis of blunt V-notched epoxy resin plates subjected to combined tension-shear loading

Several rectangular specimens made of a ductile epoxy material containing rounded-tip V-notches were tested under in-plane tension-shear loading to experimentally obtain their fracture initiation angles and load-carrying capacities (LCCs). The epoxy resin specimens with different notch angles, notch tip radii and notch inclination angles were loaded under remote tension. Then, the reformulated Equivalent Material Concept (EMC) was utilized in conjunction with the rounded-tip V-notched maximum tangential stress (RV-MTS) criterion to predict the experimental results. A set of fracture curves was obtained for the first time based on the effective notch stress intensity factor (NSIF) for predicting the onset of failure in the V-notched ductile polymeric specimens. Good agreement was found to exist between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions of the EMC-RV-MTS combined criterion, which demonstrates the capability of these new fracture curves to predict the experimental results.