End Colloquium Caroline Koks

The effects of a mismatch in cohesive strength and fracture toughness on the crack path of a quasi-brittle adhesive joint

Adhesive joints that are sandwiched between two substrates are used in the design of various structural applications. To improve the performance of a joint, an understanding of the interaction between the adhesive and the substrate is needed. One important aspect is crack propagation. Cracks can propagate in numerous ways, resulting in different failure mechanisms. In this research, the crack path adopted by an  adhesive layer as a result of a mismatch in fracture properties is studied. An alternating crack path results in a higher failure load and toughness path compared to the other observed failure mechanisms.