The influence of the adhesive layer thickness on the fracture energy of the crash-optimized high-strength adhesive SikaPower 498™ is evaluated at two independent laboratories using the same batch of adhesive. Three different methods (DCB and two different TDCB tests) are used to measure the mode Ⅰ fracture ener- gy. All methods give virtually the same fracture energy for small layer thicknesses. Here, the fracture energy increases with increasing layer thickness. This is in accordance with the results of other studies. For larger thicknesses, the results from the different methods deviate. It is argued that the larger flexibility of the adhesive layer is the major reason for this as the TDCB methods are based on the assumptions of a rigid adhesive layer. This assumption is more correct for a thin layer.
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