Modeling effects of asymmetry and fiber bridging on Mode I fracture behavior of bonded pultruded composite joints

The fracture behavior of adhesively-bonded pultruded double cantilever beam specimens was experimentally investigated. The pultruded adherends comprised two mat layers on each side with a roving layer in the middle. An epoxy adhesive was used to form the double cantilever beam specimen. The crack propagated along paths away from the symmetry plane and was accompanied by fiber bridging. Finite element models were developed to quantify the effects...