Abstract
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.
Original language | English |
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Journal | International Journal of Solids and Structures |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 3-4 |
Pages (from-to) | 741-761 |
ISSN | 0020-7683 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
Keywords
- Materials research
- Light strong materials for wind turbines and for transportation