Measurement of mixed-mode delamination fracture toughness of unidirectional glass/epoxy composites with mixed-mode bending apparatus

Initiation of cracking and delamination growth in a unidirectional glass/epoxy composite were evaluated under mode I, mode II, and mixed mode I + II static loading. They have been expressed in terms of the total critical strain energy release rate, GTC, and the total fracture resistance, GTR. For the mixed mode I + II, a mixed-mode bending apparatus was used. The loading in this test is a simple combination of the double cantilever beam mode I...