Analysis of mixed-mode II/III fracture in sandwich beams

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to study theoretically the ability of the prestressed foam core composite sandwich Split Cantilever Beam (SCB) for generating mixed-mode II/III crack loading conditions (the mode II fracture was provided by prestressing the beam using imposed transverse displacements). Design/methodology/approach - The concepts of linear-elastic fracture mechanics were used. The fracture behavior was studied in terms of the strain energy release rate. For this purpose, a three-dimensional finite element model of the prestressed sandwich SCB was developed. The virtual crack closure technique was applied in order to analyze the strain energy release rate mode components distribution along the crack front. Findings - It was found that the distribution is non-symmetric. The analysis revealed that a wide mixed-mode II/III ratios range can be generated by varying the magnitude of the imposed transverse displacement. The influence of the sandwich core material on the mixed-mode II/III fracture behavior was investigated. For this purpose, three sandwich beam configurations with different rigid cellular foam core were simulated. It was found that the strain energy release rate decreases when the foam core density increases. Originality/value - For the first time, a mixed-mode II/III fracture study of foam core composite sandwich beam is performed.