Rate-dependent crack growth in adhesives: I. Modeling approach

Rate effects in the failure behavior are investigated for adhesive bonds in which the source of time- dependence is the rate of the material separation in the fracture process zone. A rate-dependent cohesive zone model (CZM) is described and used to analyze rate effects during debonding. The model consists of a rate-independent CZM in parallel to a Maxwell element. General implications derived for the model with respect to rate effects in the failure behavior of adhesives are presented. The application of the model to the analysis of crack growth is described in a companion paper.