Simulation of mode II fracture propagation in adhesive joints using a meshless technique

Adhesive bonding is extensively used by commanding industries such as automotive and aircraft sectors. Nevertheless, due to the intricate mechanical behaviour of adhesively bonded joints, especially when crack propagation occurs at the adhesive layer, improvement of new numerical techniques to simulate this bonding approach is currently under development. In this work, a recent crack propagation algorithm based on a meshless technique is implemented to analyse mode II fracture propagation in adhesively bonded joints. After the problem domain is discretized with an independent set of field nodes, a background numerical integration mesh is constructed. The crack tip advancement is then simulated by iteratively rearranging the field nodes and integration cells at the crack tip. Radial point interpolation (RPI) functions are constructed using the concept of influence domains, allowing to obtain sparse and stable global matrices. To assess the suitability of the proposed method, End-notched flexure (ENF) specimens were manufactured and tested. The numerical simulation justly reproduces the experimental data provided and, thus, the numerical model can be applied to mode-II shear loadings and industrial applications for design purposes.