CRACK-PROPAGATION IN POLYMER ADHESIVE GLASS SANDWICH SPECIMENS/

Moisture-assisted crack growth in polymer adhesive/glass interfaces wa s measured as a function of the applied energy release rate, G, using a four-point flexure test coupled with an inverted microscope. The spe cimens consisted of two glass plates bonded together with an epoxy or an epoxy-acrylate adhesive. It was found that cracks formed and grew o n both interfaces if the glass surfaces were both smooth; however, rou ghening the surface of one of the glass plates increased the fracture resistance of the interface sufficiently so that crack growth occurred only on the remaining ''smooth'' interface (top or bottom). Finite el ement analysis was used to determine the G and psi (phase angle) appro priate for the different crack geometries. It was found experimentally that crack growth rates for all crack geometries depended on the appl ied G via a power law relationship and that for a given applied G, cra ck growth rates were sensitive the crack geometry. The results indicat e that the primary driving force for moisture-assisted crack growth at a polymer/glass interface is the applied G at the crack tip and that the effect of the phase angle for the different crack geometries (13 d egrees to 54 degrees) is negligible.