MIXED-MODE INTERFACE FRACTURE CRITERIA

The shielding of the full effect of mode II and III for interface cracks in brittle materials is demonstrated to be very important such that proper interface fracture criteria need to be modelled. A method for comparison of different phenomenological fracture criteria is discussed and applied to an experiment for a polyimide/glass interface. Finally, micromechanical models describing shielding for interface geometries with kinks are set up, allowing the phenomenological criteria to be linked up with measurable quantities such as the interface roughness.