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Mode-II Fatigue Fracture of WoodComposite Bonded Interfaces

Article in Journal of Composite Materials March 2004
DOI: 10.1177/0021998304040561

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Mode-II Fatigue Fracture of

WoodComposite Bonded Interfaces
PIZHONG QIAO* AND GUANYU HU
Department of Civil Engineering
The University of Akron
Akron, OH 44325-3905, USA
(Received June 15, 2003)
(Revised August 16, 2003)

ABSTRACT: In this paper, the shear mode (mode-II) fatigue fracture of woodFRP
bonded interfaces using a unique linear tapered end-notched flexure (TENF)
specimen is presented. A tapered beam on elastic foundation (TBEF) model
developed for design and analysis of the TENF specimens is first reviewed.
A combined analytical and experimental fracture mechanics method is developed
to evaluate the fatigue fracture behavior of woodFRP bonded interfaces under
mode-II constant cyclic loading conditions. By applying the compliance method with
the unique feature of TENF specimen (i.e., a constant compliance rate change) and
modifying the original Paris Law equation, the fatigue fracture behavior of wood
FRP interface under Mode-II loading is effectively evaluated. The possible effects of
loading variables (i.e., load ratio, waveform, and frequency) on crack propagation
rate are investigated. Both the load ratio and frequency have shown pronounced
influences on crack propagation rate; while the waveform has negligible effect.
A modified Paris Law equation is proposed to include both the frequency and load
ratio effects. The present method can be used for other similar studies of interface
fracture of dissimilar materials, and the finding of this study can eventually lead to
the development of design guidelines for hybrid material bonded interface.
KEY WORDS: fatigue, adhesive, tapered beam, mode-II fracture, strain energy
release rate, load ratio, waveform, frequency, interface bond, wood, FRP composite.

INTRODUCTION
performance and durability of civil structures in service, FiberReinforced Plastic (FRP) composites are increasingly used for reinforcement and
repair of timber products and structures. Current research and applications of wood
reinforcement have focused on the use of FRP strips or fabrics adhesively bonded to wood
members. Although significant increases in stiffness and strength have been achieved by

O IMPROVE THE

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Qiao@uakron.edu

Journal of COMPOSITE MATERIALS, Vol. 38, No. 6/2004

0021-9983/04/06 045321 $10.00/0
DOI: 10.1177/0021998304040561
2004 Sage Publications

453

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P. QIAO

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this reinforcing technique, there is still a concern about the reliability of the woodFRP
bonded interfaces, which may be susceptible to cracking or delamination. An inadequate
interface bond strength and integrity can lead to delamination and premature failure of a
hybrid woodFRP composite and affect the service performance of the product. Several
adhesive systems have been successfully used to bond composites with wood, and the longterm durability and fracture of woodFRP interfaces have been characterized in recent
research efforts [1,2]. However, in engineering practices, most structures are subjected to
both applied and environmental cyclic loadings during their service life. Therefore, the
fatigue fracture behavior of woodFRP interfaces becomes a quite important issue in the
research work.
Fatigue failure of materials and bonded interfaces is a complex topic and has not been
completely understood, and there is no single accepted criterion or law to explain it.
However, the application of linear elastic fracture mechanics concepts has resulted in
reasonable and useful explanations of fatigue failure, especially in crack propagation rate
measurement and fatigue life prediction. It is generally accepted that there are three stages
characterizing the fatigue process [3]: (1) near threshold region, (2) intermediate region,
and (3) high growth rate region, as illustrated in Figure 1. Most recently, the fatigue crack
growth behavior of woodFRP interface under mode-I loading has been studied by
Davalos and Jia [4]; a power law relation was established between the crack propagation
rate and fracture mechanics parameters, such as the strain energy release rate. Although
the data for fatigue crack propagation of the woodFRP interface under mode-I loading
and related formulations have been established, the fatigue behavior of woodFRP
interface under mode-II loading has not been explored. In particular, mode-II fatigue
fracture related behaviors such as crack growth under various stress ratios and different
loading frequencies have not yet been studied. Thus, the present study is concerned with
the fatigue behavior of woodPultruded FRP bonded interface using a novel tapered
end-notched flexure (TENF) specimen under mode-II loading.

Paris Law

log (K)
Figure 1. Fatigue curve.

Fast fracture

Threshold

log (da/dN)

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

The relationship between the crack growth rate and fracture toughness was first
established by Paris in the 1960s [5,6], who introduced the well-known Power Law
equation, which states that the crack growth rate da/dN, where a is the crack length and N
is the number of cycles, depends mainly on the amplitude of the stress intensity factor
K:
da
C
K m
dN

where C and m are the empirical constants dependent on materials, loading modes,
environments, and other factors, which need to be determined experimentally. The load
ratio R, load frequency f, and load waveform are believed to be accepted significant
parameters for fatigue crack growth rate. Many researchers have noticed that the original
Power Law equations could not explain those effects, and therefore all kinds of modified
Paris Law equations were proposed to include these effects. The present study is concerned
with the load ratio, waveform, and frequency effects on fatigue fracture of woodFRP
bonded interfaces under Mode-II loading using tapered end-notched flexure (TENF)
specimens, and the pertinent literature review is summarized briefly next.
Sutton [7] used a tapered double cantilever beam specimen to determine fatigue crack
growth rates in epoxy resin polymer. A modified Paris equation was developed, in which
the relation between the fatigue crack growth rates da/dN and the variation in strain
energy release rates
G instead of stress intensity factor was defined as:
da
5:9
105
G5:5
dN

where da/dN is the crack growth rate (in/cycle) and
G is the range of strain energy release
rates (lb/in). The range of strain energy release rates
G is proportional to the product of

K and Kmean which means that
G is a better parameter to evaluate the fatigue behavior
of epoxy polymer or other similar resins, commonly used as interface adhesives or matrix
binders for composite materials.
Hojo et al. [8] investigated the effect of stress ratio on near-threshold growth of
delamination fatigue cracks. In their test, two types of carbon FRP composites were used,
and the crack propagation rate was expressed as a power function of the stress intensity at
rates about 5
1010 m/cycle. Below this rate, there is a growth threshold for fatigue
cracks, and no measurable crack growth occurs; above this threshold, the crack growth
develops. The double cantilever beam specimens were used, and the fiber direction was
parallel to the crack growth direction. To obtain the relationship between the compliance
C and crack length a, a power law formula: C Dan was adopted. The influence of stress
or load ratio became the smallest for the given energy release rate range, and the load ratio
effect was almost negligible for the 914C laminates when using the variance of the energy
release rate
G as the controlling parameter. For the P305 laminates, the load ratio effect
could not be neglected and a modified Paris law was used, in which
K was replaced by

Keq. Through the analyzed test results, the fatigue behavior (crack growth rate) of CFRP
was described as:
da
m
A
Keq
dN

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P. QIAO

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where for m 26, the scatter of data points for the P305 laminates merged into one
relatively straight line.
Tong and Byne [9] studied the frequency effect on the fatigue crack growth rate of prealloyed powder material Udimet 720 Li. In their test, a constant
K control, which
provided excellent linearity of crack growth rate at a particular frequency, was used. The
standard compact tension specimens were used, and three regimes of frequency effect were
studied: cycle dependent regime; mixed time/cycle dependent regime; and time dependent
regime. The cycle dependent regime was represented by crack growth at room
temperature. The mixed time/cycle dependent regime was obtained by the fatigue load
at 650 C; whereas the time dependent crack growth was obtained under fixed loads also at
650 C. After comparing the three regimes, they concluded that the mixed time/frequency
dependent regime was the dominant mechanism, and a modified Paris Law equation was
then developed as:
da
g f C
K m
dN

where the constants C and m were obtained from the temperature data.
Davalos and Jia [4] and Jia [10] recently studied the fatigue behavior of woodFRP
interface bond under mode-I loading. A tapered or contoured double cantilever beam
specimen with a constant compliance versus crack length relationship was used, and the
following effects were studied: waveform including sinusoidal, triangular, and square
shapes; load ratio of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5, and frequency of 0.1, 1.0, and 10 Hz. They
concluded that the waveform had negligible effect on the mode-I fatigue of woodFRP
interface; however, both the load ratio and frequency had great influence on the crack
propagation rate. A modified Paris law was used to show the relation of the crack propagation rate da/dN and the energy release rate. The equation representing the combined
load ratio and frequency effects for crack propagation rate of woodFRP interface bond
was proposed as:
da
5:49
4
1020 f 0:05
G0:07 G0:93
mean
dN

where, da/dN is the crack propagation rate (m/cycle); f is the frequency (Hz);
G is the
range of energy release rate (N/m); and Gmean is the mean energy release rate (N/m).
In this paper, design of a unique tapered end-notched flexure (TENF) specimen used for
mode-II fatigue fracture experiment is first reviewed, followed by the introduction of
materials and specimen fabrication. Fatigue experiment design and related compliance
method are then introduced. Finally, the effects of load ratio, waveform, and frequency on
the crack propagation are studied, and a modified Paris Law for mode-II fatigue fracture
of woodFRP interface is proposed.

REVIEW ON DESIGN OF TENF SPECIMEN

The conventional method for evaluating the fracture behavior of an adhesively
bonded interface under mode-II loading is by testing a constant thickness end-notched

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

flexure (ENF) specimen under three-point bending, and the critical strain energy release
rate, GIIc, which is a measure of the fracture toughness of a bonded interface, is
given by:

GIIc

P2c dC
2b da

where, Pc is the critical load, b is the width of the specimen, and dC/da is the compliance
rate change with respect to crack length a. The fracture toughness of an interface bond
obtained by testing the ENF specimen requires simultaneous measurements of critical load
and crack length for each load step. The value of dC/da in Equation (6) depends on the
accuracy of the crack length measurement, which is generally a difficult task. The
measurement of crack length can be avoided by tapering the ENF specimen, such that
dC/da is a constant, and in this case, the specimen is known as the contoured or Tapered
End-Notched Flexure (TENF) beam as illustrated in Figure 2.
A tapered beam on elastic foundation (TBEF) model [11] was recently developed to
analyze and design the shape of the test specimens. The TENF specimen is modeled as a
three-point bending beam with an end midplane crack of length a (Figure 2(a)).
Timoshenkos beam theory is used to calculate the compliance and compliance rate change
of the specimen. To account for the displacement and rotation of crack tip, a half of the
TENF specimen is modeled as a tapered beam on elastic foundation (TBEF) (Figure 2(b)).

(a)

2
k

II

III

2ho

a
L

(b)

2
k

II

III

a
P/4

Figure 2. TENF specimen: (a) TENF specimen with same material for adherend and contour; (b) Model of
TENF on generalized elastic foundation.

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The resulting compliance of the TENF specimen hereby consists of two parts and is
expressed as:
1
CII Cb
a w
2

where Cb is the compliance of the TENF specimen based on Timoshenkos beam theory
without considering crack tip deformations and is expressed as [11]:








1
2E11 k2
2E11 k2
A  15
Cb
logh0  9 logha 9
loghL
8bE11 k3
G12
G12

where:
A 4:5 

h0 4:5h0 6ka h0 4:5h0 6kL 6k2h0 3kaa h0 4:5h0 6kLk

9
h2a
h2a
h2L
h2L
ha h0 ka

10

hL h0 kL

11

and E11, E22, G12 are the longitudinal, transverse and shear moduli of the beam material;
h0 is the initial thickness of the half beam of the specimen (Figure 2(a)); k is the slope of the
contour; and b is the width of the specimen. The second term on the right hand of
Equation (7) is the contribution of crack tip deformation to total compliance of the
specimen. The derivations and expressions of rotation (
) and displacement (w) of the half
beam at the crack tip are given in [11].
To use the TENF specimen for interface bonds of dissimilar adherends, it is convenient
to maintain a constant thickness of the adherends and to bond them to contoured portions
made of a material that is easy to shape, such as wood. This approach can simplify the
fabrication of the TENF specimen. In such a case of different materials for adherend and
contour portions, the above model is still applicable; however, necessary modifications are
needed. The details of the analysis for the TENF specimen with different materials for
adherend and contour are given in [11].
As indicated in the experimental compliance calibration tests and numerical finite
element analysis [12], both the compliance (C) and compliance rate change (dC/da) of the
TENF specimens can be accurately predicted by the TBEF model [11], and an
approximate linear relationship between the compliance and crack length (i.e., a nearly
constant compliance rate change within a certain range of crack length) can be achieved
for properly designed TENF specimens (Figures 3 and 4). As shown in Figures 3 and 4, by
properly choosing the slope of a given specimen, a constant compliance rate change is
obtained over a certain crack length range, for which the critical strain energy release rate
(see Equation (6)) can be easily evaluated, without the need to measure the crack length in
the fracture experiment.
The analysis of wood and hybrid tapered samples [12] indicated that the main task in
designing TENF specimen is to determine the slope of the specimen to achieve an
approximately constant compliance rate change with respect to crack length. The
influencing factors for determining the compliance rate change of the TENF specimen

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

Compliance rate change, dC/da (N-1 x 10-3)

0.01

0.008

0.006
k=0.08

0.004

k=0.078
k=0.075

0.002

0
50

100

150

200
a (mm)

250

300

350

Figure 3. Compliance rate change of the TENF specimen made of the same material for adherend and
contour.

Compliance rate change, dC/da (N-1 x 10-3)

0.008

0.006

k = 0.0785
k = 0.08
k = 0.077

0.004

0.002

0
50

100

150

200

250

300

350

a (mm)

Figure 4. Compliance rate change of the TENF specimen made of different materials for adherend and
contour.

include the material properties of substrates (i.e., E11, E22, G12) and their geometric
configuration (i.e., L, h0, a, k, see Figure 2(a)). As concluded in a parameter study [12] of
the TENF specimens using the TBEF model, the ratio of E11/E22 has shown little effect on
the compliance of the specimen; whereas the ratio of E11/G12 plays a significant role in the
compliance of the specimen. Therefore, the ratio of E11/G12 should be considered in the
design of TENF specimen. The effect of the E11/G12 ratio on the compliance rate change of
the specimen is shown in Figure 5, and a constant compliance rate change (dC/da) is

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G. HU

Compliance rate change, dC/da (N-1 x 10-3)

0.01

0.008

E1/G12= 2

0.006

E1/G12= 11
E1/G12= 25
E1/G12= 50

0.004

0.002

0
50

100

150

200

250

300

a (m m)

Figure 5. Dependency of compliance rate change of TENF specimen on E11/G12 [12].

0.3
0.25

Slope k

0.2
k= 1.7365(L/ho)

0.15

-0.8537

R = 0.9912
0.1
0.05
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

L/h0
Figure 6. Slope of TENF specimen as a function of L/h0 [12].

achieved over a certain crack length range. As also shown in Figure 5, the E11/G12 ratio
has shown an influence on the magnitude of dC/da but not on the linearity of compliance
versus crack length. Thus, from the parameter study on material constants [12], it
illustrates that the only parameter we need consider in choosing the slope k to achieve the
linear relationship of compliance and crack length is the ratio of specimen length to initial
height (L/h0). Based on the TBEF model [11], the proper slope k values in terms of L/h0
have been obtained and shown in Figure 6. Hence, the design of the TENF specimen
becomes a relatively easy task, and by using a given L/h0, the slope k can be found in

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

Figure 6. Further, a regression function [12] is used to establish the relation between
the slope k and the ratio of L/h0, and the slope of the specimen is expressed as a function
of h0/L as:

k 1:7365

0:8537
h0
,
L

R2 0:9912

12

In the case of specimens made of hybrid materials, which consists of adherend (base
material) and contour material, an equivalent initial height of the half beam is defined as
[12]:
s
2
2
4
2 4
3 2mhc hb 2h 3hb hc 2h h m h
c
c
b
b
he
hc mhb

13

where hc and hb are the initial heights of the contour and adherend materials, respectively;
m Eb11/Ec11, and Eb11, Ec11 are the longitudinal Youngs moduli of the adherend and
contour materials, respectively. Substituting h0 with he in Equation (12) gives an estimate
of k value for the hybrid specimen.
From the above unique feature of the TENF specimen, a guideline for designing the
TENF specimen is summarized as follows:
(1) Use the ratio of E11/G12 and Figure 5 to obtain the dC/da value of TENF specimen.
For the adherend and contour portions with different materials, the ratio of E11/G12 of
the contour is used in Figure 5 to stipulate the dC/da value.
(2) Use Figure 6 or Equation (12) to determine the slope of TENF specimen.
(3) Refine the design by finite element analysis or the TBEF model [11], i.e., for designed
specimen with given dimensions and slope, recomputed the dC/da value and confirm
the linearity of compliance and crack length relation.
(4) Summarize the design: manufacture the TENF specimens with defined dimensions and
the tapered slope obtained in (2), and conduct mode-II fracture related tests.
Based on the above design guideline, a woodFRP TENF specimen is designed
(Figure 7) and used in mode-II fatigue fracture test. The properties of wood and FRP
composites are given next.
4.699 mm

h0 = 8.636 mm
k = 0.785 Red Maple

FRP Composite

k = 0.780 Red Maple

a = 152.4 mm

2.54 mm

L = 0.34 m

L = 0.34 m

Figure 7. TENF specimen with woodFRP bonded interface.

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MATERIAL AND SPECIMEN FABRICATION

Materials
WOOD
The wood material used in the present investigation is a hard species red maple, which
was chosen as the substrate to be reinforced with pultruded FRP composite. Youngs
Modulus of the material was determined from tension tests [13], and the average modulus
was 12.19 GPa (1.768 psi) with a 7.9% Coefficient of Variation (COV). The shear modulus
was approximately taken as 1.034 GPa (0:15
106 psi) [13,14]. The red maple samples
were cut with a slope of grain (fiber orientation) of approximately 0o to ensure that the
crack always propagated through the interface. The finished dimensions of the wood
samples were 762 mm (30 in.)
31.75 mm (1.25 in.)
63.5 mm (2.5 in.) before they were cut
into the tapered shapes.
PULTRUDED FRP
Pultruded fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) composite was chosen as the substrate to be
bonded to the red maple hardwood. The process of pultrusion is ideally suited for the mass
production of structural members made of FRP. The composite material used in this study
consisted of E-glass fiber rovings embedded in a Phenolic resin matrix. The lay-up of the
composite material includes two Continuous Strand Mat (CSM) layers and one
unidirectional roving layer in the center. The CSM layer provides a desirable surface
texture of the adherend, which is important to attain a good adhesive bond interface. The
thickness of FRP plates is about 2.54 mm (0.1 in). The modulus of the composite in the
fiber direction was obtained by simple tension tests [13], and the average modulus value is
about 37.44 GPa (5.43
106 psi).
ADHESIVE
Penacolite adhesive R-300, CB 104-1 from Indspec Chemical Corporation was used
for bonding wood to FRP adherend. Penacolite Adhesive G-1131 consists of two
parts, a liquid resin G-1131-A and a powdered hardener G-1131-B. The liquid resin
G-1131-A is an alcoholwater solution of a partially condensed resorcinolformaldehyde resin. The hardener G-1131-B is a tan powder formulated from paraformaldehyde
and a suitable cellulosic filler. The adhesive is mixed in the following proportion:
5 parts G-1131-A by weight and 1 parts G-1131-B by weight. G-1131-A is charged
to the mixer and then G-1131-B is added slowly with agitation and mixing continued
for 5 min to make the setting agent thoroughly dispersed. Penacolite Adhesive
G-1131 is adaptable to accelerated curing at intermediate temperatures, as well as
room temperature. The adhesive is spread on the bonding surface using a wooden
spatula.
The open/closed assembly times used in bonding were 5 and 35 min, respectively, for all
the specimens. Sufficient pressure of 1.38 MPa (200 psi) was used in the bonding to reduce
the glue line to a thickness of 0.05080.1778 mm. The adhesive was allowed to cure for at
least 10 h before the pressure was removed, and all the specimens were cured for six days at
room temperature. The open/closed assembly time and pressure chosen in this study were
adopted from the durability study [1,2], as they provide best bonding of woodFRP
interface.

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

Specimen Preparation
To fabricate the TENF specimen with different adherend and contour materials (see
Figure 7), the adherend (FRP composite plate) and contour materials (red maple wood)
was bonded together at first. The adhesive was spread on the bonding surface and
1.38 MPa (200 psi) pressure was applied. Subsequently, the adhesive was spread on the
outer face of one of the two adherends, and the two adherends were pressed against each
other to form the actual interface. A cellophane insert was used at one end to define an
initial crack length. The excess adhesive on the sides of the specimen was removed by using
a scraper. The adhesive was allowed to cure for more than 10 h before the pressure was
moved. Each sample was then marked, and the required linear tapered contour was
obtained by using a band saw to cut the Red Maple to the final shape.
The average of the dC/da value for woodFRP TENF specimen obtained was
0:735
105 N1 by the TENF model [11] and 0:715
105 N1 by finite element
modeling. The compliance calibration tests [12] were conducted for symmetric wood
wood and FRPFRP TENF samples, and the average dC/da value obtained from
experiments for woodFRP specimen was 0:690
105 N1. In this study, the
experimental result of the dC/da value is used in computation of the strain energy release
rate and later in the compliance method.

FATIGUE FRACTURE EXPERIMENT

Constant Strain Energy Release Rate Range
The tapered end-notched flexure (TENF) specimen was used for evaluating fracture
toughness of bonded woodFRP interfaces under mode-II loading [12]. The critical
strain energy release rate GIIc is given in Equation (6). Similarly, the maximum and
minimum strain energy release rates for one complete cycle are obtained simply by
substituting the maximum and minimum applied loads into Equation (6), and they are
written as

Gmax

P2max dC
2b da

14

Gmin

P2min dC
2b da

15

The strain energy release rate range
G is easily obtained from the difference between the
maximum and minimum strain energy release rates as

G Gmax  Gmin

16

For the TENF specimen, the compliance rate change dC/da is a constant; therefore, the
constant strain energy release rate range
G is acquired for a given constant amplitude
cyclic loading.

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Fatigue Tests
Mode-II fatigue tests were conducted in a MTS servo hydraulic testing machine
(Figure 8). The experiment was performed under load control mode. Three independent
tests were conducted: (a) three different load ratios of R 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 at constant
frequency of f 1.0 Hz and sinusoidal waveform; (b) three different shapes of waveforms
including sinusoidal, triangular, and square at a constant frequency of f 1.0 Hz and load
ratio of R 0.5; (c) three different frequencies of f 0.1, 1.0, and 2.0 Hz at a constant load
ratio of R 0.1 and sinusoidal waveform. Based on the different chosen load ratios and
maximum selected loads (Pmax), the minimum loads (Pmin) are computed (see Tables 13)
[15]. All tests were carried out at room temperature (23  2 C) and laboratory ambient
conditions.

Compliance Method
The accuracy of crack propagation rate da/dN depends on the measurement of crack
length, which is a formidable problem confronted by researchers of fracture mechanics.
The loading point displacement
is much easier to measure than the crack length of the

Figure 8. TENF specimen under Mode-II fatigue loading.

Table 1. Applied loads for load ratio R 0.1.

Pmin (N)
Pmax (N)

P Pmax  Pmin
R

62.3
622.8
560.5
0.1

89.0
889.6
800.6
0.1

106.8
1067.6
960.8
0.1

124.6
1245.5
1120.9
0.1

142.3
1423.4
1281.1
0.1

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

Table 2. Applied loads for load ratio R 0.3.
Pmin (N)
Pmax (N)

P Pmax  Pmin
R

186.8
622.8
436.0
0.3

266.9
889.6
622.7
0.3

320.3
1067.6
747.3
0.3

373.7
1245.5
871.8
0.3

427.0
1423.4
996.4
0.3

Table 3. Applied loads for load ratio R 0.5.

Pmin (N)
Pmax (N)

P Pmax  Pmin
R

311.4
622.8
311.4
0.5

444.8
889.6
444.8
0.5

533.8
1067.6
533.8
0.5

622.8
1245.5
622.7
0.5

711.7
1423.4
711.7
0.5

622.3 - 1244.6 N; R = 0.5; sinusoidal; f = 1 Hz

Compliance, C (mm/kN)

dC/dN = 1.0701 x 10-4

0
0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

Number of cycles, N
Figure 9. Compliance growth rate (dC/dN) measurement.

TENF specimen. In this study, the difficulty of measuring crack propagation rate (da/dN)
is avoided by recording the displacement growth rate (d
/dN) or compliance growth rate
(dC/dN). The transformation from the displacement growth rate d
/dN to crack
propagation rate da/dN is given as
da
da dC
1 d

dN dC dN cP dN

17

where N is the number of cycles; P is the applied load; and c is a constant that is equal to
the dC/da value of the TENF specimen. Since only the relative value of loading point
displacement
is needed, a COD clip gauge was used to accurately measure the
displacement. A representative plot of compliance versus number of cycles for a valid
range of crack length is given in Figure 9, and the slope of the plot in Figure 9 represents
the compliance growth rate (dC/dN). All the test data are available in [15].

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Effect of Load Ratio
The loglog plots of crack propagation rate da/dN versus the strain energy release rate
(SERR) range
G and minimum strain energy release rate Gmin are shown in Figures 10
and 11, respectively. The strain energy release rate range
G is believed to be a better
parameter than the stress intensity factor range
K since
G itself includes the effect of
mean stress intensity factor (or load ratio effect) [7]. The Paris Law equation
corresponding to the strain energy release rate range is expressed as
da
B
Gm
dN

18

The parameters B and m are determined by fitting the test data. For each given load ratio
R, the constants B and m in Equation (18) (for da/dN in m/cycle and
G in N/m) are listed
in Table 4, and they indicate that both B and m increase as the load ratio R increases. It is
evidently seen that there is a strong effect of load ratio R on crack propagation rate da/dN.
As shown in Figure 10, based on the test matrix in Tables 13, the crack propagation rate
da/dN increases for a fixed strain energy release rate range,
G, when the load ratio R
increases. So the expression in Equation (18) may be only valid for a specific load ratio R,
and it fails to fully explain the load ratio effect for the experimental data. Therefore, it may
be suitable to introduce another parameter to more accurately describe the effect of load
ratio.
0.1

da/dN (mm/cycle)

f = 1 Hz and sinusoidal waveform

0.01

R = 0.1
R = 0.3
R = 0.5
0.001
0.01

0.1

SERR range, G (N/mm)

Figure 10. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs. strain energy release rate range
G for
different load ratios.

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

0.1

da/dN (mm/cycle)

f = 1 Hz and sinusoidal waveform

0.01

R = 0.1
R = 0.3
R = 0.5
0.001
0.0001

0.001

0.01

0.1

Minimum SERR, Gmin (N/mm)

Figure 11. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs. minimum strain energy release rate Gmin for
different load ratios.

Table 4. Material constants B and m for three load ratios R.

Load ratio R
0.1
0.3
0.5

m
9

7:051
10
7:261
108
5:364
107

1.0889
1.2095
1.3689

As noticed by other researchers [4,8], the strain energy release rate range
G is not the
only controlling parameter for the crack propagation rate da/dN. A very interesting
observation was found when examining the double-log plot in Figure 11 of da/dN
versus the minimum stain energy release rate Gmin. Compared to the da/dN versus
G plot
in Figure 10, the effect of load ratio R on the crack propagation rate da/dN in Figure 11 is
reversed, in which as the load ratio R increases, the crack propagation rate da/dN
decreases for a given minimum stain energy release rate Gmin. Therefore, Gmin also plays a
very important role in terms of load ratio effect, and its influence is explored in this study.
Since the minimum strain energy release rate Gmin and strain energy release rate range
G
have contrary effects on crack propagation rate da/dN for different load ratios R, the
minimum strain energy release rate Gmin is included as a secondary controlling parameter
to explain the load ratio effect. By following a similar approach as in Hojo et al. [8], the
equivalent strain energy release rate (iGeq) is defined as,

Geq
G1 Gmin

19

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AND

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Then the modified Paris Law equation is expressed as

da
B
Geq m
dN

20

In Equation (19),  is a material constant, which defines the relative importance of

contributions of minimum strain energy release rate Gmin and strain energy release rate
range
G on crack growth rate. The constant  is obtained by a trial-and-error method to
best fit the data points. In this study, we try to fit  to converge the three lines of load ratios
into a narrow band in the loglog plot of da/dN versus
Geq (Figure 12), and the best least
square fit results for material constants B, m,  and coefficients of determination R2 in
Equation (20) (for da/dN in m/cycle and
Geq in N/m) are given in Table 5, where R2 is the
coefficient of determination and 0<R2<1. If there is no random variation and all points
fall on the regression line, R2 1 which represents a best fit. If the points are randomly
scattered and there is no variation explained by regression, R2 0. Finally, the modified
Paris Law equation for the woodFRP interface considered in this study is given as
da
1:2067
7:59
108
G0:75 G0:25
min
dN

21

0.1

da/dN (mm/cycle)

f = 1 Hz and Sinusoidal waveform

0.01

0.001

R = 0.1
R = 0.3
R = 0.5
0.0001
0.01

0.1

Equivalent SERR range, Geq (N/mm)

Figure 12. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs. equivalent strain energy release rate range

Geq for different load ratios.

Table 5. Material constants B, m and k and coefficient of determination R2 for

modified Paris Law equation.
Modified Paris Law Equation

m

d a=d N B
G1 Gmin

B
7:59
108

m
1.2067


0.25

R2
0.95

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

The above proposed equation efficiently represents the load ratio effect on crack
propagation rate of woodFRP interfaces under mode-II loading, and it can further be
used for other similar studies of interface fracture of dissimilar materials.

Effect of Waveform
By the same compliance method, the crack growth rate can be determined for different
loading waveforms. The strain energy release rate parameters are obtained by using
Equations (14)(16). Again, the modified Paris Law equation corresponding to the strain
energy release rate (Equation (18)) is used to fit the data point in the test. For each wave
shape, the parameters B and m in Equation (18) (for da/dN in m/cycle and
G in N/m) are
listed in Table 6. The differences of B and m among these three different wave shapes are
very small, especially for power coefficient, m, of which the maximum difference is less
than 5%.
As noticed by recent studies [4,10], the waveform has little or negligible effect on fatigue
behavior of various materials. The double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN versus
the strain energy release rate range
G for three waveforms is presented in Figure 13. The
Table 6. Material constants B and m for three waveforms.
Waveform
Square
Triangular
Sinusoidal

m
8

2:35
10
2:52
108
2:45
108

1.4145
1.4334
1.3689

0.1

da/dN (mm/cycle)

f = 1 Hz and R = 0.5

0.01

Sine
Triangle
Square

0.001
0.01

0.1

SERR range, G (N/mm)

Figure 13. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs. strain energy release rate range
G for
different waveforms.

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AND

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difference between the trend lines of da/dN versus
G for square, triangular and
sinusoidal waveforms is not noticeable. Thus, it can be concluded that the effect of
waveforms considered here for the present woodFRP bonded interface under Mode-II
loading could be neglected.

Effect of Frequency
In this section, the frequency effect on woodFRP bonded interface is studied and
discussed. The compliance growth rates are obtained for different frequencies f 0.1,
1.0, and 2.0 Hz, respectively. By using the compliance method and Paris Law in
Equation (18), the material constants B and m in Equation (18) (for da/dN in m/cycle
and
G in N/m) for each frequency are listed in Table 7. As indicated in Table 7, both
B and m decrease as the frequency f increases. However, the proposed Paris Law and
parameters are only valid for the studied frequency range (i.e., f 0.12.0 Hz in this
study). The results clearly show that frequency has considerable effect on crack growth
rate. The crack propagation rate da/dN increases for the same strain energy release rate
(SERR) range, when the loading frequency decreases. A double-log plot of crack
propagation rate (da/dN) versus SERR range (
G) under three given frequencies is
shown in Figure 14.
There are several existing models to consider frequency effects on fatigue fracture; one
of which believes that the crack growth rate is inversely proportional to frequency, such as
the following expression proposed by Tong and Byne [9]:
da
/ f 
dN

22

where,  is a material constant that generally lies in the range between 0 and 1.0. For
example,  0.38 for a pre-alloyed powder material Udimet 720Li [9]. Williams [16] also
provided a very similar expression with constant  0.43 for the data obtained for
PMMA. Considering the above idea and combining with the load ratio effect, the
following relationship is proposed
da
/ f 
G0:75 G0:25
min
dN

23

The above modified Paris Law includes the combined effects of load ratio and frequency.
The fitting of double-log data points by linear regression is shown in Figure 15, in
which the three distinct data lines in Figure 14 caused by frequency effects merged
approximately into one single function. By trial and error analysis,  0.24 is obtained for

Table 7. Material constants B and m for three frequencies f.

Frequency f (Hz)
0.1
1.0
2.0

m
8

4:43
10
3:38
108
2:81
108

1.2203
1.0957
1.0846

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Fatigue Fracture of Bonded Interfaces

0.1

da/dN (mm/cycle)

Sinusoidal waveform and R = 0.1

0.01

0.001

f = 1.0 Hz
f = 0.1 Hz
f = 2.0 Hz

0.0001
0.01

0.1

Geq= G

Gmin0.25 (N/mm)

0.75

Figure 14. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs.
Geq for different load frequencies.

da/dN (mm/cycle)

0.1

f = 1.0 Hz
f = 0.1 Hz
f = 2.0 Hz

0.01

0.001
0.01

0.1

Geq (N/mm)

-0.24

Figure 15. Double-log plot of crack propagation rate da/dN vs. f

0.24

Geq.

woodFRP interface under Mode-II cyclic loading, and the modified Paris Law equation
including both the frequency and load ratio effects then becomes
da
1:2003
7:59
108 f 0:24
G0:75 G0:25
min
dN

24

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P. QIAO

AND

G. HU

The above equation provides the crack propagation rate for Mode-II fatigue fracture of
woodFRP bonded interface and can be used in practice to predict the crack growth of the
interface under fatigue loading.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, a comprehensive study on the fatigue behavior of the red maple wood
phenolic FRP composite bonded interface under mode-II cyclic loading is carried out, and
the possible loading variable (load ratio, waveform, and frequency) effects on the crack
propagation rate of the woodFRP bonded interface are investigated. The following
conclusions are obtained:
(1) The TENF specimen is shown to be suitable and effective for mode-II fatigue fracture
tests of woodFRP bonded interface.
(2) The compliance method used for the TENF specimen is quite simple, relatively precise
and effective for measuring crack propagation rate of woodFRP bonded interfaces
under mode-II loading.
(3) The modified Paris Law equation for the effect of load ratio is obtained in Equation
(21), and it can best explain the load ratio effect on woodFRP bonded interface
fatigue behavior under mode-II loading.
(4) Three waveform shapes of triangular, sinusoidal, and square considered in this study
have little effect on crack propagation rate of the interface under mode-II constant
cyclic loading.
(5) The load frequency is an important factor for crack growth rate of the woodFRP
bonded interface under mode-II loading. Both the material parameters B and m
decrease as the frequency f increases.
(6) Finally, by considering the combined load ratio and frequency effects for crack
propagation rate of woodFRP interface bond under mode-II loading, the modified
Paris Law equation is proposed and given in Equation (24). This equation can be used
to predict the mode-II crack growth of woodFRP interface under combined effect of
load ratio and frequency.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Partial financial support for this study was received from the National Science
Foundation (CMS-0002829). The help from Dr. Jialai Wang on design of TENF specimen
is greatly appreciated. The authors thank Prof. Julio F. Davalos and Dr. Junhui Jia, West
Virginia University, for their valuable suggestions to this research.

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