Mixed Mode I/II fatigue crack growth in adhesive joints

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) tests have been carried out on adhesively bonded compact tension-shear (CTS) specimens to assess the behaviour of a structural adhesive under Mixed Mode I/II conditions. The fractographic analysis revealed that energy dissipation mechanisms due to inelastic phenomena like bulk plastic deformation and crazing are more pronounced in Mode I than in Mixed Mode and Mode II. This is reflected by a FCG rate that increases going from Mode I to Mode II for a given value of the range of strain energy release rate, ΔG.