1 Engineering Fracture Mechanics, vol. 97, 2013, 105-135 A maximum stress at a distance criterion for the prediction of crack propagation in adhesively- bonded joints Ph. Martiny a , F. Lani b , A.J. Kinloch c , T. Pardoen b a Cenaero, Centre de Recherche en Aéronautique, Rue des Frères Wright 29, B-6041 Gosselies, Belgium b Université catholique de Louvain, Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering, Place Sainte Barbe 2, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium c Imperial College London, Mechanical Engineering Department, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK Abstract The present work relates to the numerical prediction of the mode I failure of metal-to-metal adhesive joints under quasi-static, steady-state conditions by means of a criterion based on attaining a critical value of the maximum principal stress at a critical distance ahead of the crack tip. The model predicted very accurately the failure of three adhesives (i) over a wide range of the thickness of the adhesive layer from 0.1 to 1 mm, and (ii) for two very different test geometries: namely the linear elastic fracture-mechanics tapered double-cantilever beam test and the elastic-plastic fracture- mechanics wedge-peel test. Keywords: adhesive joints; failure prediction; finite-element analysis; fracture mechanics;