A methodology for measuring interface fracture properties of composite materials

A methodology is presented for measuring interface fracture properties of composite materials. A bimaterial Brazilian disk specimen with a crack along the interface is employed. The specimen is analyzed by means of the finite element method and a conservative integral to determine stress intensity factors as a function of loading angle and crack length. A weight function is employed to determine the effect of residual curing stresses on the stress intensity factors. These are combined to determine the critical interface energy release rate \documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \usepackage{amsmath} \usepackage{wasysym} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsbsy} \usepackage{mathrsfs} \usepackage{upgreek} \setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \begin{document} $$\mathcal{G}$$ \end{document}ic as a function of stress intensity phase angle Ψ for tests carried out on a glass/epoxy material pair.