An apparatus for mixed-mode fracture characterization of adhesive joints

This paper describes a method of measuring the toughness of adhesive joints in various mixed mode combinations from mode I (opening) to mode II (shear) relying exclusively on the load-displacement curve obtained from an universal testing machine and the displacement from two linear variable differential transformers (LVDT) connected to the specimen beams. The novelty of the method reported here is that it does not use a visual crack length...