Sc. Pradhan et al., Determination of fracture parameters of laminated thermoplastic composite materials: a finite element approach, INT J ADHES, 20(5), 2000, pp. 395-401
With the advent of new adhesives bonded joints are growing in use. These jo
ints made up of different materials such as thermoset and thermoplastic-lam
inated composite materials are prone to peel off at their interface leading
to failure. In the present work an improved locking-free four-node finite
element is developed. Developed locking-free element is validated for a can
tilever beam under flexural loading condition. In fact, the element is obse
rved to be free from parasitic shear leading to more accurate results. Furt
her, the developed element is being applied for the fracture study of lamin
ated composite materials for the first time. Double-cantilever beam (DCB) s
pecimens of isotropy material and laminated composite materials are modelle
d with locking free four-node plane strain elements to predict the fracture
parameters. Crack growth along the interface of the joints are simulated b
y sequential opening of paired nodes. Finite element analyses are carried o
ut and strain energy release rates are computed. Using the developed elemen
t accurate fracture parameters are obtained for isotropy and laminated comp
osite DCB specimens. Simultaneously, experiments are conducted and strain e
nergy release rates of the DCB specimens are determined. Computed strain en
ergy release rates employing the developed element are in good agreement wi
th those reported in literature and those obtained from the experiments. (C
) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.