Adhesively bonded joints have been increasingly used in structural applications over the last decades, and are observed as alternatives to traditional methods of mechanically fastened and welded joints. Amongst various industries, aerospace and automotive have contributed immensely toward development of adhesives with the increase in the use of hybrid structures in the lightweight design. Adhesively bonded joints are frequently subjected to either static or fatigue mixed-mode loadings. Hence, attempting a conservative design to compensate for the negative effects of such loadings should be considered by the designers. Nevertheless, the lack of reliable material modelling as well as inherent uncertainties existing in such joints result to over-design of such components. Therefore, improvement in the structural integrity of components using such joints while they are in service is still a matter of discussion. Although there have been many works in fracture characterisation of adhesives under pure mode I and II, their response under mixed-mode loadings has received much less attention and many points still need to be investigated.weiterlesen