Fracture criterion for kinking cracks in a tri-material adhesively bonded joint under mixed mode loading

The fracture behavior of a composite/adhesive/steel bonded joint was investigated by using double cantilever beam specimens. A starter crack is embedded at the steel/adhesive interface by inserting Teflon tape. The composite adherend is a random carbon fiber reinforced vinyl ester resin composite while the other adherend is cold rolled steel. The adhesive is a one-part epoxy that is heat cured. The Fernlund–Spelt mixed mode loading fixture was employed to generate five different mode mixities. Due to the dissimilar adherends, crack turning into the adhesive (or crack kinking) associated with joint failure, was observed. The bulk fracture toughness of the adhesive was measured separately by using standard compact tension specimens. The strain energy release rates for kinking cracks at the critical loads were calculated by a commercial finite element analysis software ABAQUS in conjunction with the virtual crack closure technique. Two fracture criteria related to strain energy release rates were examined. These are (1) maximum energy release rate criterion (Gmax) and, (2) mode I facture criterion (GII = 0). They are shown to be equivalent in this study. That is, crack kinking takes place at the angle close to maximum G or GI (also minimum GII, with a value that is approximately zero). The average value of GIC obtained from bulk adhesive tests using compact tension specimens is shown to be an accurate indicator of the mode I fracture toughness of the kinking cracks within the adhesive layer. It is concluded that the crack in tri-material adhesively bonded joint tends to initiate into the adhesive along a path that promotes failure in pure mode I, locally.