Dynamic fracture response of adhesive joints subjected to mode-I impact wedge loading

This paper aims to examine the behavior of cracked adhesive joints experimentally and numerically when they are subjected to quasi-static and dynamic loads using the tensile and falling-wedge impact tests, respectively. Double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens were manufactured and tested under impact loading with varying impact energies to analyze the adhesive joint mode-I dynamic fracture response. To determine quasi-static and dynamic mode-I fracture energies, the compliance-based beam method (CBBM) was utilized accounting for the axial force exerted by the wedge. It was found that by changing the loading condition from quasi-static to impact, the maximum force and fracture energy of adhesively bonded joints were considerably increased by 275% and 452%, respectively. However, within the impact test conditions, increases of 10% and 22% were obtained in maximum force and fracture energy when the impact energy was tripled. The adhesive joints tested under static loading experienced a mixed interfacial/cohesive failure pattern, whereas by shifting the loading condition to impact, the failure pattern turned fully cohesive. The quasi-static and dynamic fracture responses of adhesive joints were modeled using the cohesive zone model employing a triangular traction-separation law. The numerical and experimental results exhibited reasonable correlation.