An experimental study to estimate the strain energy release rate (SERR) criterion of sandwich plate for ship structure with interfacial debonding flaws

Abstract The experimental study to estimate the strain energy release rate (SERR) criterion of steel polyurethane sandwich plate for ship structure with interfacial debonding flaws had been reported. The results of this experimental study provide valuable insights for characterizing the interfacial fracture toughness of sandwich plates using steel faceplates and polyurethane elastomer cores for ship structure applications. The mode-I and mode-II loading test methods produced different values of the strain energy release rate (SERR), related to the various mechanisms of damage propagation and the nature of the stress states associated with each mode. The critical strain energy release rate of mode-II loading ( G IIC ) is much higher than the mode-I loading ( G IC ) . This difference highlights the distinct crack growth behaviours and energy dissipation mechanisms involved in mode-I and mode-II loading.