Mixed-Mode Cathodic Delamination of Rubber From Steel

A series of scarf specimens with a range of scarf angles was used to examine the effect of fracture mode-mix on the cathodic delamination of rubber from steel in an aggressive (1N NaOH) environment. Fracture parameters were extracted from finite element analyses that accounted for the nonlinearly elastic response and the finite deformations in the rubber layer. Delamination growth rates were found to be independent of energy release rate levels that were chosen for the study but were strongly dependent on crack opening angle, the parameter that was used to represent the local fracture mode-mix.