The fracture behaviour of adhesively-bonded composite joints: Effects of rate of test and mode of loading

The present paper discusses the results of an investigation into the effects of test rate and the mode of loading on the fracture energy, Gc, of adhesively-bonded fibre-composite joints. Various carbon-fibre reinforced-polymer (CFRP) matrix composite substrates have been bonded using two different types of automotive structural epoxy-adhesives. They have been tested via loading the bonded joints in mode I (tensile), mode II (in-plane shear) and mixed-mode I/II from slow rates (i.e., of about 10−5 m/s) up to relatively high rates of test of about 15 m/s. The high-rate tests were photographed using a high-speed digital video camera to record the deformation of the joint and the fracture behaviour. An analysis strategy has been developed for the various modes of loading (i) to account for the observed fracture behaviour, (ii) to circumvent the problems posed by oscillations in the load traces due to the presence of dynamic effects in the faster tests, and (iii) to account for the kinetic energy associated with the moving specimen arms in the faster tests. Based on the analysis strategy developed, the effect of the test rate on the fracture energy, Gc, for the different loading modes for the joints has been ascertained. Furthermore, various different fracture paths were observed in the tests. They were either cohesive, in the adhesive layer, or interlaminar in the composite substrates. The exact fracture path observed was a function of (i) the type of composite substrate, (ii) the type of adhesive, and (iii) the mode of loading employed. However, the nature of the fracture path was found to be quite insensitive to the test rate. Essentially, it was found that joints subjected to mixed-mode I/II loading were more likely to exhibit an interlaminar fracture path in the composite substrates than when loaded in either pure modes I or II. The propensity for a given joint to exhibit such a fracture path via delamination of the composite substrate has been explained by calculating the transverse tensile stresses induced in the loaded composite arms, and comparing this value to the measured transverse tensile strength of the composite. Following this approach, the underlying reasons for the observed fracture path were identified and could be predicted. Also, the proposed scheme provides a route to design against delamination failure occurring in adhesively-bonded fibre-composite test specimens.