A finite element method for failure analysis of adhesively bonded structures

The solid bodies constituting the adhesively bonded joint, i.e. the adhesive and the adherends, are treated as material surfaces. The result can be regarded as a structural element model of the compound joint. The adhesive is modelled as a softening material due to local material damage. As a consequence, the propagation of a crack front in the adhesive layer can be followed, and the failure load of the structure becomes a computational result. A one-parameter viscous regularization of the softening adhesive material law is used in order to improve the numerical behavior. Several applications are presented.