Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
279402 | International Journal of Solids and Structures | 2009 | 21 Pages |
The fracture of adhesive joints between two glass-fibre laminates was studied by testing double cantilever beam test specimens loaded by uneven bending moments. A large-scale fracture process zone, consisting of a crack tip and a fibre bridging zone, developed. The mixed mode fracture resistance increased with increasing crack length, eventually reaching a steady-state level (R-curve behaviour). The steady-state fracture resistance level increased with increasing amount of tangential crack opening displacement. Cohesive laws, obtained from fracture resistance data, were used for prediction the load carrying capacity of 2-m long “medium size” adhesive joint specimens subjected to four point flexure. Medium size specimens were manufactured and tested. A good agreement was found between the predicted and measured strength values of the medium-size specimens. Thus, the scaling from small specimens to medium-size specimens was successfully achieved.