Abstract

Nowadays, the use of composite materials in primary structures has considerably increased, in particular in what refers to primary structures and bonded joints. Thus, numerical tools and experimental tests have to be implemented in order to understand failure modes and critical loads in this kind of structures. Usually, bonded joints quality is tested based on the interlaminar fracture test DCB (G1c). Nevertheless, these tests have some limitations. The aim of the present study is to create a feasible and accurate numerical model which allows the quality of a bonded joint as function of the peeling load to be determined. The idea is then an actual alternative to offer in-situ test by means of a transportable and easy to use device. In this study, a research analyzing two tests able to identify the quality of a bonded joints, as an alternative to the interlaminar fracture test, based on a classic peeling test on carbon laminates, is presented. The numerical simulation is based on a Finite Element Analysis using the commercial software Abaqus®. Onset and propagation of adhesive damage is taken into account by means of a cohesive zone model. A virtual test of the peeling test is done and its behavior is compared with the experimental results from an extensive laboratory test campaign. Numerical results will allow us to verify the feasibility to compute the value of G1c from experimental results.