Accurate prediction of the fracture behavior of highly flexible adhesive joints, such as those employing ductile polyurethane (PU) systems, under varying thermal and loading conditions remains a major challenge, owing to complex fracture mechanisms and multiple crack paths that are not well captured by conventional cohesive zone models (CZMs). Building on a previously established calibrated cohesive zone modelling (CZM) concept, the present study extends the framework to mixed-mode behaviour using a bilinear traction–separation law (TSL) and a reduced set of calibration conditions. Instead of relying directly on dedicated pure Mode II tests, the shear-related cohesive parameters are identified from single lap joint (SLJ) response at three temperatures (-30, 23, and 60\, ^ C) and three loading rates (1, 200, 6000 mm/min), spanning a broad temperature–rate range relevant to service conditions. The bilinear CZM, implemented in a standard finite element framework, successfully replicates joint initial stiffness and peak failure loads across all conditions with an average error below 10%, although peak load is slightly overpredicted and displacement at failure is not accurately captured. Compared to a full-scale calibration approach, the proposed methodology reduces both the number of required calibration conditions and the number of test configurations by 50%, yet delivers robust predictions over the studied service envelope. These results demonstrate that simplified CZM schemes, when carefully calibrated, can serve as a practical engineering-level framework for the design and reliability assessment of highly flexible adhesive joints.
Hasumi et al. (Mon,) studied this question.
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