Mixed Mode Energy Release Rates for Adhesively Bonded Beam Specimens

Abstract

This paper presents closed-form solutions for the energy release rate and the mode ratio of an equal adherend adhesively bonded beam specimen subject to a mixed mode bending load. The developed expressions explicitly account for the thickness and the material properties of the adhesive layer using a beam on an elastic foundation model. The accuracy of the expressions is verified using dimensional analysis and comparison with finite element results, and it is shown that they correlate well with experimental fracture data from adhesively bonded beam specimens with varying crack lengths.