Fracture Characterization of Hybrid Bonded Joints (CFRP/Steel) for Pure Mode I

In Europe, several bridges, as Luiz I bridge in Porto, are at the end of their service life, which is pretended to extend due to cultural value of these structures. The application of carbon reinforced polymers (CFRP) in certain regions of the structures under maintenance is a widely used methodology of strengthening. Thus, this work aims to characterize the fractureFracture mechanics properties for pure mode I of hybrid joints, which combine CFRP with steel by means of a structural adhesive. Therefore, asymmetric double cantilever beam (ADCB) type of experimental test was performed to assess pure mode I of fractureFracture. Besides, a numerical study based on a cohesive zone model was also performed, in order to design and evaluate the experimental results.