The Use of Bilinear Cohesive Zone Model to Study the Fracture of Mode I in Adhesive Joints

Adhesively bonded joints can be numericallysimulated using the Cohesive Zone Model (CZM) concepts.CZM are widely used for the strength prediction of adhesivejoints. The critical strain energy release rate and criticalinterface strength are the parameters which must be knownwhen cohesive elements in ABAQUS software are used. Theformulation of the cohesive finite elements is based on theCZM approach with the bilinear traction-separation law. Inthis work, the parameters of two industrial adhesivesHuntsman Araldite 2015 and resin LY3505/XB3405 forbonding of epoxy composites are identified. DoubleCantilever Beam (DCB) test data was used for theidentification. Finally, cohesive parameters are identifiedcomparing numerically simulated load-displacement curveswith experimental data retrieved from literature.Parametric study is performed to evaluate the variation ofinput parameters like initial stiffness, element size, peakstress and energy release rate ‘G’. From the numericalevaluation, it was noted that CZM simulation relies largelyon element size and peak cohesive strength.