Elastic-plastic mode-II fracture of adhesive joints

A numerical study of the elastic-plastic mode-II fracture of adhesive joints is presented in this paper. A traction-separation law was used to simulate the mode-II interfacial fracture of adhesively bonded end-notched flexure (ENF) specimens loaded in three-point bending, with extensive plastic deformation accompanying failure. The fracture parameters for the traction-separation law were determined by comparing the numerical and experimental results for one particular geometry. These parameters were then used without further modification to simulate the fracture: of other ENF specimens with different geometries. It was found that the numerical predictions for the loads and deformation were in excellent agreement with the corresponding experimental results. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.