Determination of the fracture energy under mode I loading of a honeycomb/carbon-epoxy sandwich panel using the asymmetric double cantilever beam test

The asymmetric double cantilever beam (ADCB) test was used to measure the fracture energy of a honeycomb/carbon-epoxy sandwich panel under mode I loading. A data reduction scheme based on equivalent crack length theory was developed for this case. The experimental Resistance-curves were obtained using exclusively data ensuing from the load-displacement curves avoiding the usual and non-rigorous crack length monitoring during the test. Furthermore, a mode partitioning methodology lying on cohesive zone modelling was adopted, aiming to estimate the fracture energy under mode I loading from the total fracture energy under mixed-mode I+II ensuing from the ADCB test. Numerical simulations of the ADCB test considering cohesive zone modelling were performed for the sake of validation of the followed procedure.