Determining fracture toughness as a cohesive zone parameter of a wood plastic composite

Debonding of wood/matrix interfaces has an important effect on the macroscopic behavior of wood plastic composites (WPCs). The cohesive zone models are phenomenological relations between the normal (and shear) traction(s) and opening (and sliding) displacement(s) across the particle/matrix interfaces. Earlier research works have been conducted widely on the cohesive zone simulations for different materials; however, little portion of these work has been dedicated to determining proper cohesive laws for particle/matrix interfaces in WPCs. In this article, a typical WPC was produced via injection molding and single edge-notched beam (SENB) specimens were prepared for fracture testing. Accordingly, the fracture toughness of the WPC material, as one of the main cohesive zone parameters, was obtained using the test data.

Keywords:

Wood plastic composite (WPC) , particle/matrix interface , fracture testing