An experimental method to determine the complete stress versus deformation relation for a thin adhesive layer loaded in shear is presented. The work is based on a classical specimen geometry, i.e. the end-notch flexure specimen (ENF-specimen) and the experiments are evaluated based on an inverse method. By studying the energy balance at the crack tip an expression for the energy release rate is derived. The theory considers the effects of a flexible adhesive layer and is based on beam theory. From the energy release rate the stress-deformation relation is derived using the inverse method.
Quasi-static experiments are performed using a servo-hydraulic testing machine. The deformation process at the crack tip is monitored during the experiments by use of a CCD-camera attached to a microscope. The method requires differentiation of the energy-deformation relation, therefore a Monte-Carlo simulation is performed to investigate how small errors in the data acquisition system affects the final stress-deformation relation. Small errors in the measurement of the force and shear deformation give small effects on the final stress-deformation relation.
Experiments on three different geometries of the specimen are performed. The experiments give consistent results. It is shown that if the process zone in front of the crack tip is large, then the stress-deformation relation does not depend on the dimensions of the adherends. Thus, the constitutive relation can be considered to be a property of the adhesive layer.