FRACTURE OF STRUCTURAL ADHESIVE UNDER PURE MODE III LOADING CONDITIONS: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY AND CHALLENGES Vrije Universiteit Brussel
As one of the primary load-carrying materials, adhesives play a crucial role in the structural integrity of composite-made wind turbine blades. A thorough understanding of the mechanical behavior of adhesives in terms of fracture behavior is mandatory in order to optimize the blade design. Fracture analysis of trailing edge failure revealed that mode III contributed the most to the strain energy release rate, with flapwise shear and torsion ...