Investigation of the mode I fracture properties of adhesively bonded joints after water ageing

To investigate the mode I fracture properties of adhesively bonded joints after water ageing, the authors reduced here the width of Tapered Double Cantilever Beam (TDCB) specimens to 5 mm (compared to typical values encountered in literature at 10 mm). This was decided in order to reach the desired water absorption levels within a reasonable time. However, this operation was found to increase the impact of the edge effects on the fracture...