Cohesive and continuum damage models applied to fracture characterization of bonded joints

In this work, two different methods for simulating damage propagation are presented and applied to fracture characterization of bonded joints in pure modes I and II. The cohesive damage model is based on a special developed interface finite element including a linear softening damage process. In the continuum damage model the softening process is performed by including a characteristic length associated with a given Gauss point. The models were applied to the simulation of “double cantilever beam” (DCB) and “end notched flexure” (ENF) tests used to obtain the critical strain release rates in mode I and II of bonded joints. In mode I it was observed, under certain conditions, a good agreement between the results obtained by the two models with the reference value of critical strain energy release rate in mode I (G_Ic), which is an inputted parameter. However, in mode II some discrepancies on the obtained G_IIc values were observed between the two models. These inaccuracies can be explained by the simplifying assumptions inherent to the cohesive model. Better results were achieved considering the crack equivalent concept.