MIXED-MODE ENERGY-RELEASE RATES FOR ADHESIVELY BONDED BEAM SPECIMENS

This paper presents closed-form solutions for the energy release rate and the mode ratio of an equal adherend adhesively bonded beam specime n subject to a mixed mode bending load. The developed expressions expl icitly account for the thickness and the material properties of the ad hesive layer using a beam on an elastic foundation model. The accuracy of the expressions is verified using dimensional analysis and compari son with finite element results, and it is shown that they correlate w ell with experimental fracture data from adhesively bonded beam specim ens with varying crack lengths.