The effect of adhesive layers on the fracture of laminated structures

The effect of the thickness and the elastic properties of the adhesive layers in laminated structures is considered. The structure is assumed to consist of two sets of periodically arranged dissimilar layers which may contain cracks perpendicular to the interfaces. The crack problem is solved under the assumption of plane strain or generalized plane stress and by using two different models for the adhesive layers. In the first model the adhesive layer is approximated by a combination of tensile and shear springs. In the second the adhesive layer is considered to be an elastic continuum, hence involving no approximating assumptions. The results regarding the stress intensity and stress concentration factors obtained from these two models and that found by ignoring the adhesive layers are presented and some comparisons are made.