Measurement of the interfacial strain energy release rate of adhesively
bonded structures with metallic substrates before and after water ageing
Abstract
In order to measure the interfacial Strain Energy Release Rate (SERR) of
adhesively bonded joints with metallic substrates, an alternative to the
Tapered Double Cantilever Beam (TDCB) specimen is used here. In
particular, the dimensions of one of the two substrates were reduced to
create an Asymmetric Tapered Double Cantilever Beam (ATDCB) specimen.
The ATDCB specimen has been introduced in the past by other research
teams to study the mode I+II cohesive fracture properties of structural
adhesives. It is shown the geometric dissymmetry of the ATDCB specimen
affects the crack propagation path towards the interface with the
smaller (less stiff) substrate. However, this substrate plasticises
during the fracture test; hence, a strategy is also presented to
evaluate the amount of potential energy spent for this phenomenon and
subtract it from the total potential energy induced in the system during
the fracture test. After this operation, the SERR of the adhesive under
investigation was calculated by means of the Linear Elastic Fracture
Mechanics (LEFM) theory before and after water ageing. The results
showed a large decrease of the SERR with the increase of the ageing
time.