Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

www.elsevier.com/locate/compositesb

Analysis of single lap adhesive composite joints with delaminated

adherends
Minghao Qin, Yuris A. Dzenis*
Department of Engineering Mechanics, Center for Materials Research and Analysis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln,
W317.4 Nebraska Hall P.O. Box 880526, Lincoln, NE 68588-0526, USA
Received 1 March 2002; accepted 5 August 2002

Abstract
Polymer composites have high potential for applications in repair of aerospace structures. Adhesively bonded composite patches minimize
balance and clearance problems on control surfaces and can be readily formed to complex aircraft contours. Delamination in composites can
be detrimental to joint performance and durability and should be accounted for in joint design. In this work, a simple engineering model is
developed for cracked adhesive joints with arbitrary orthotropic laminated adherends. Joints with unidirectional and cross-ply adherends are
analyzed and compared as an example. Variations of the strain energy release rates with the crack location and size are calculated. It is shown
that joints with the cross-ply adherends have higher energy release rates than the joints with the unidirectional adherends. Experimental
observations of the delamination growth are also performed and found to corroborate the theoretical predictions.
q 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
Keywords: B. Delamination; Strain energy release rate

1. Introduction
Polymer matrix composites are attractive materials for
use in repair of aerospace structures. Adhesively bonded
composite patches minimize balance and clearance problems on control surfaces and can be readily formed to
complex aircraft contours. Reinforcement in a patch can be
tailored to suit the loading configuration and to minimize
undesirable stiffness increase. Adhesive bonding is also
attractive for joining large composite parts in the future
integrated composite manufacturing processes. Delamination in composites is one of the damage modes in adhesive
composite joints. Delamination can occur during manufacturing or in service and is due to weak interlaminar fracture
resistance of laminated composites coupled with substantial
interlaminar peel and shear stresses developed in the
adherends. Delamination can be detrimental to joint
performance and durability and should be accounted for in
joint design. Growth of delaminations in the adherends of
single lap adhesive composite joints is addressed in this
work.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: 1-402-472-0713; fax: 1-402-472-8292.
E-mail address: ydzenis@unl.edu (Y.A. Dzenis).
1359-8368/03/$ - see front matter q 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.
PII: S 1 3 5 9 - 8 3 6 8 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 0 6 6 - 5

Substantial effort has been devoted over the years to the

analysis of bonded joints. Goland and Reissner [1] analyzed
stress distributions in the adhesive layer of a single lap joint.
Wah [2] analyzed stress distributions in joints with
anisotropic adherends. Chen and Cheng [3] determined
the stresses in a single lap joint by using fourth-order
ordinary differential equations. Kairouz and Matthews [4]
calculated stress distributions in single lap joints with initial
cracks using finite element method. These works and the
references therein showed that both peel and shear stresses
in the adhesive layers can be large. The peel stress induced
by load eccentricity can be especially significant at the
edges of the overlap. These large out-of-plane stresses can
result in delaminations in composite adherends.
It is customary to treat delaminations in advanced
composites using fracture mechanics approaches. In particular, strain energy release rate is often utilized. Williams
[5] used the beam theory to calculate the strain energy
release rates in cracked laminates. These rates were defined
in terms of the membrane forces, transverse shear forces,
and bending moments at the crack tip. Recently, Tong et al.
[6] used a modified approach [5] to calculate the strain
energy release rates for joints with cracked unidirectional
adherends.

168

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

Fig. 1. A single lap adhesive composite joint with a delamination crack.

In this paper, the approach [5,6] is generalized for joints

with delaminated adherends of arbitrary lay-up. Variations
of the strain energy release rate with the crack tip position in
the joints with unidirectional and cross-ply adherends are
calculated and compared. Delamination growth in these
joints is also observed experimentally and the results are
compared with the theoretical predictions.

2. Model formulation
Consider a single lap joint with a delamination crack [6]
(Fig. 1). Assume that the two composite adherends have the
same lay-up, thickness t, and free length l. The overlap
length of the joint is 2c. The delamination crack between the
plies of the adherend has tip A inside the joint overlap and
the tip B outside the joint overlap. Figs. 2 and 3 show the
stress resultants acting in the cross-sections at the crack tips
A and B, respectively. The stress resultants MA1 ; QA1 ; PA1 ;
MA2 ; QA2 ; PA2 ; MB1 ; QB1 ; PB1 ; MB2 ; QB2 and PB2 can be
calculated by a modified solution [6]. M0 ; Q0 ; P0 ; MB ; QB ;
PB ; sx and tx are obtained by a modified method [1].
The total strain energy release at each delamination tip can
be calculated as a sum of the energies caused by the bending
moments, shear forces, and membrane forces, respectively:
G GM GQ GP

Consider a lap composite joint with orthotropic laminated

adherends. The energy release rates GM ; GQ and GP for such
adherends are expressed as follows
2 2
d11
M2 2 12 d11 M1 M2 2
"
!#2
n1
n2
X
X
1 zi
3Q1
z2
1
1
2
dz

GQ
i
t1
Gxy zi21 4t1
Gixy
i1
i1

GM

1
2

1 2
d11
M1

zi

"

zi21

zi
zi21

"

1
2

3Q2
z2
12
4t2
t2

!#2
dz 2

3Q1 Q2
z2
12
4t
t

GP

n1
n2
X
1 2 n ixy n iyx P1 =n1 2 X
1 2 n ixy n iyx

i
2
2
Ex t 1
i1
i1

n
X
1 2 n ixy n iyx P1 P2 =n2
P2 =n2 2
2
2
Exi t2
Exi t
i1

where i is the ply index; t1, t2 and t are the thicknesses for the
lower and upper sublaminates and the total laminate,
respectively; Ex ; nxy ; and Gxy are the ply elastic properties
in the laminate axes. These latter properties are defined by the
following equations [8]:


1
1
1
2n
1

cos4 u
2 12 sin2 u cos2 u
sin4 u
Ex
E1
G12
E1
E1


n12
1
1
1
4
4
nxy Ex
sin u cos u 2

2
E1
E2
G12
E1

 sin2 u cos2 u


1
2
2
4n12
1
2

2
sin2 u cos2 u
Gxy
E1
E2
G12
E1
1

sin4 u cos4 u
G12
1
2
where u is the angle of ply orientation. Coefficients d11
; d11
and d11 are the bending stiffnesses for the lower and upper
sublaminates and the total laminate, respectively.
The numbers n1, n2 and n represent the ply numbers for

n
X
1
i
G
xy
i1

!#2
dz

3
Fig. 2. Stress resultants acting on the cross-section at the crack tip A.

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

Fig. 3. Stress resultants acting on the cross-section at the crack tip B.

the lower and upper sublaminates and the total laminate,

respectively. The crack tip indices (A or B ) are omitted in
Eqs. (2) (4). Note that, according to Sun and Pandey [7], the
mode partitioning of the total energy performed by the
methods similar to Refs. [5,6] does only hold for the cracks
located in the midplane of simple laminated composites.
Therefore, only the total energy was analyzed in this work.
3. Analysis

169

joints with laminated adherends of two different lay-ups.

Joints with unidirectional [0]6 and cross-ply [0/90/0]S
adherends made of Hexcel T2G_190-1200 -F263 graphite
epoxy composite were analyzed. The mechanical properties
of the graphite epoxy ply were E 11 132.7 GPa,
E22 E33 8.83 GPa, n12 n13 0.36, G12 4.76 GPa.
The ply thickness was 0.17 mm. The joint had a free length
150 mm and an overlap length 60 mm.
Fig. 4 compares the total strain energy release rates at the
crack tip A inside the joint overlap for the joints with the
unidirectional and cross-ply adherends. The delamination
crack was located between the first and second plies nearest
to the bondline. The applied far-field tensile stress in the
adherends was 400 MPa in both cases. It is seen that in both
cases, the strain energy release rate decreased as the crack
length increased. The strain energy release rate for the crossply joint (Fig. 4b) was higher than the strain energy release
rate for the unidirectional joint (Fig. 4a) for all crack
lengths, lA, studied.
Fig. 5 compares the total strain energy release rates at the
crack tip B outside the joint overlap for the joints with the
unidirectional and cross-ply adherends. Both joints were
loaded by the far-field stress 400 MPa. It is seen that in both
cases, the strain energy release rate at the crack tip B is

The model described above was used to calculate

and compare the strain energy release rates in single lap

Fig. 4. Variation of strain energy release rate at the crack tip A with crack
length: joints with unidirectional (a) and cross-ply (b) adherends.

Fig. 5. Variation of strain energy release rate at the crack tip B with crack
length: joints with unidirectional (a) and cross-ply (b) adherends.

170

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

Fig. 6. Variation of strain energy release rate at the crack tip A with crack
length: crack located between the second and third plies in unidirectional
(a) and cross-ply (b) adherends.

substantially smaller than the strain energy release at

the crack tip A (Fig. 4). Again, the strain energy release
rate in the joint with the cross-ply adherends (Fig. 5b) was
higher than the strain energy release rate in the joint with the
unidirectional adherends (Fig. 5a). In both cases, the strain
energy release rate decreased as the delamination length
increased.
Fig. 6 compares the total strain energy release rates at the
tip A in the joints with unidirectional and cross-ply
adherends, when the crack is located between the second
and third plies, counting from the bondline. In both cases,
the strain energy release rates were smaller compared to the
joints with delaminations located between the first and
second plies (Fig. 4). The latter decrease was more
pronounced for the joint with the unidirectional adherends.
As a result, the ratio of the strain energies in the joints with
the cross-ply and unidirectional adherends increased for the
cracks located further away from the bondline. Similar
effects of the crack through-thickness location were
observed for the crack tip B.
Fig. 7 shows variations of the maximum strain energy
release rates at the crack tip A with delamination depth
(through-thickness location) in the joints with unidirectional
and cross-ply adherends. It is seen that, for both
unidirectional and cross-ply adherends, the maximum strain
energy release rate decreased as the delamination depth
increased. The ratio of the maximum strain energy release
rates for the joints with the cross-ply and unidirectional
adherends also increased with the delamination depth.
The overall analysis showed that both single lap adhesive
composite joints studied were delamination tolerant. In all

Fig. 7. Variation of maximum strain energy release rate at the crack tip A with crack depth: joints with unidirectional (a) and cross-ply (b) adherends.

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

171

Fig. 8. Geometry of a single lap joint specimen.

cases, the strain energy release rate decreased as the

delamination length increased. The strain energy release
rate in the joints with cross-ply adherends was greater than
that in the joints with unidirectional adherends. For both
joints, the strain energy release rate decreased as the
delamination depth increased.

4. Experimental observations

Fig. 10 compares the growth of delaminations with

different initial lengths (different initial crack tip A
positions) in the joints with unidirectional adherends. The
initial delaminations were located between the first and
second plies of the adherends. Both joints were loaded to the
far-field tensile stress 400 MPa. The positions of
the delamination crack tips A at this load are indicated in
the microphotographs by arrows. The delamination crack
length appeared to be independent of the initial crack tip

Experiments were performed on the adhesive composite

joints with deliberately introduced initial delaminations.
Several single lap adhesive composite joints were manufactured from Hexcel T2G_190-1200 -F263 graphite/epoxy
prepreg and Cytec 300-2M adhesive film. Unidirectional
[0]6 and cross-ply [0/90/0]S lay-ups were utilized. The joint
panels were prepared by the secondary curing using
manufacturer recommended curing cycles. The panels
were cut into specimens with a high-speed diamond saw.
The specimen geometry is shown in Fig. 8. The overlap
length was 60 mm. Initial delaminations were introduced
into adherends by a thin Teflon film inserted during
manufacturing. The location of the delamination tip in the
overlap section and the depth of delamination were varied.
Mechanical testing was performed on a servohydraulic
MTS testing machine retrofitted with an Instron digital test
control and data acquisition system. On-line video
microscopy (Fig. 9) was used to characterize delamination
growth.

Fig. 9. Experimental set-up.

Fig. 10. Delamination growth in unidirectional adherends with various

initial crack length (far-field stress 400 MPa).

172

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

Fig. 11. Delamination growth in unidirectional adherends with various

initial crack depth (far-field stress is given in parentheses).

Fig. 12. Delamination growth in unidirectional and cross-ply adherends

(far-field stress 400 MPa).

position and depended only on the external load. The crack

length at 400 MPa was about 1.45 mm.
Fig. 11 compares the growth of delaminations located
between the first and second plies and the second and third
plies in the joints with unidirectional adherends. The initial
crack tip positions were the same in both joints. The joints
were loaded to 400 MPa and 450 MPa, respectively. The
crack tip positions at these loads are indicated in
the microphotographs by arrows. It is seen that the length
of the crack located between the second and third plies was
smaller than that of the crack located between the first and
second plies, even though the external load in the former
case was higher.
Fig. 12 compares the delamination growth in the joints
with unidirectional and cross-ply adherends. The initial
cracks were located between the first and second plies in
both cases. Both joints were loaded to the far-field stress
400 MPa. The positions of the delamination crack tips
observed at this load are indicated in the microphotographs

by arrows. It is seen that the crack in the joint with the crossply adherends kinked and migrated to the next ply interface.
This is likely to be due to the mixed mode stress state at the
crack tip. The direction of the maximum strain energy
release rate under the mixed mode loading can be at an
angle to the crack plane. After that, the crack in the cross-ply
adherend propagated along the interface between the second
and third plies. The total length of the crack in the cross-ply
adherend (Fig. 12b) is larger than the length of the crack in
the unidirectional adherend (Fig. 12a), even though, as was
noted earlier, the propagation of the cracks at interfaces
located further away from the bondline is more difficult
(Fig. 11).
Fig. 13 compares the delamination growth in the joints
with unidirectional and cross-ply adherends at the far-field
stress 250 MPa. The initial cracks were located between the
first and second plies. It is seen that the crack in the joint
with the unidirectional adherends did not propagate at that
load. However, the crack in the joint with the cross-ply

M. Qin, Y.A. Dzenis / Composites: Part B 34 (2003) 167173

173

correlates with the results in Fig. 5 (small energy release

rates for crack tips B ). Observation 2 correlates with the
results in Figs. 4 and 6 (decrease of energy with the crack
length increase). Similarly, observation 3 is consistent with
the comparison of the results in Figs. 4 and 6 and the data in
Fig. 7. Finally, observation 4 is consistent with the
comparisons of the data in Figs. 4a,b and 6a,b.

5. Conclusions
A simple model is presented for the analysis of strain
energy release rates in cracked composite joints with
arbitrary orthotropic laminated adherends. The model is
applied for the analysis of joints with unidirectional and
cross-ply graphite epoxy adherends. The analysis showed
that both single lap joints were delamination tolerant. In all
cases, the strain energy release rate decreased as the crack
length increased. The strain energy release rate in the joints
with cross-ply adherends was greater than the strain energy
release rate in the joints with unidirectional adherends. For
both joints, the strain energy release rate decreased as the
depth of crack increased. Experimental observations of the
behavior of cracks with different initial crack lengths and
depth corroborated the theoretical predictions.
Acknowledgements

Fig. 13. Delamination growth in unidirectional and cross-ply adherends

(far-field stress 250 MPa).

adherends showed propagation (the crack tip position is

indicated by an arrow).
The experimental observations can be summarized as
follows.
1. Crack tips outside the overlap did not propagate.
2. Crack tips inside the overlap propagated through finite
length, depending on loading.
3. Cracks at interfaces located closer to the bondline
propagated through longer distances than cracks located
further away from the bondline.
4. Cracks in the joints with the cross-ply adherends started
to propagate earlier and propagated through longer
distances than cracks in the joints with the unidirectional
adherends.
These observations correlate well with the theoretical
analysis presented in Section 3. For example, observation 1

The support of this work by the Air Force Office of

Scientific Research is gratefully acknowledged. The
materials for the experimental studies were provided by
Hexcel Corporation and Cytec Fiberite, Inc. The authors
would like to thank Prof. C.T. Sun of Purdue University for
valuable discussions.

References
[1] Goland M, Reissner E. The stress in cemented joints. J Appl Mech
1944;66:A17A27.
[2] Wah T. Stress distribution in a bonded anisotropic lap joint. ASME J
Engng Mater Technol 1973;95:17481.
[3] Chen D, Cheng S. An analysis of adhesive-bonded single lap joints.
J Appl Mech 1983;50:10915.
[4] Kairouz KC, Matthews FL. Strength and failure modes of bonded
single lap joints between cross-ply adherends. Composites 1993;24(6):
47584.
[5] Williams JG. On the calculation of energy release rates for cracked
laminates. Int J Fract 1988;36:10119.
[6] Tong L, Zhu XC, Steven GP. Damage tolerance of adhesively bonded
composite single lap joints. Key Engng Mater 1998;145149:537 42.
[7] Sun CT, Pandey RK. Improved method for calculating strain energy
release rate based on beam theory. AIAA J 1994;32(1):1849.
[8] Jones RM. Mechanics of composite materials, 2nd ed. New York:
Taylor & Francis; 1999.