Title: Comparison of numerical, empirical and local partition methods in ADCB specimens

Authors: Victoria Mollón; Jorge Bonhomme; Ahmed Elmarakbi; Jaime Viña; Antonio Argüelles

Addresses: Department of Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, University of Oviedo, 33212 Gijón, Spain ' Department of Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, University of Oviedo, 33212 Gijón, Spain ' Department of Computing, Engineering, and Technology, University of Sunderland, Sunderland SR6 0DD, UK ' Department of Material Science and Metallurgical Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, University of Oviedo, 33212 Gijón, Spain ' Department of Construction and Manufacturing Engineering, Polytechnic School of Engineering, University of Oviedo, 33212 Gijón, Spain

Abstract: It is well-known from the scientific literature that the asymmetric double cantilever beam (ADCB) specimen is subjected to mixed-mode I/II load at the crack tip. In these samples, the crack plane lies outside the laminate midplane. In this work, the energy release rate in modes I and II (GI and GII) are obtained by different approaches. The analytical determination of GI and GII in ADCB samples is not simple or straightforward and is usually based on partition methods. Numerical results obtained from finite element analysis (FE) are compared with the analytical local partition method (LP) for a carbon fibre epoxy AS4/3501-6 laminate. Both results are also compared with an empirical formulation obtained in previous works. Results obtained from all three methods are in good agreement.

Keywords: asymmetric double cantilever beams; ADCB; mixed mode loading; fracture toughness; delamination; virtual crack closure technique; VCCT; finite element analysis; FEA; local partition method; carbon fibre epoxy laminates; composite materials; automotive composites.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAUTOC.2015.071176

International Journal of Automotive Composites, 2015 Vol.1 No.4, pp.299 - 312

Received: 19 Feb 2015
Accepted: 30 Apr 2015

Published online: 13 Aug 2015 *

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