Modification of the mechanical properties of synthetic fibers by grafting vinyl monomers

Graft polystyrene has been synthesized on polypropylene fibers. The isometric heating curves of the grafted fibers have two maxima. The first is associated with the preserved oriented polypropylene structures, the second with the oriented structures formed directly in the process of polystyrene synthesis. The maximum stress corresponding to the latter maximum is proportional to the amount of polystyrene and the degree of orientation of the starting polypropylene and depends on the mechanical stress in the fiber during the process of polystyrene synthesis.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 963–969, 1967     

Effect of combined extrusion parameters on mechanical properties of basalt fiber-reinforced plastics based on polypropylene

Basalt fibers are efficient reinforcing fillers for polypropylene because they increase both the mechanical and the tribotechnical properties of composites. Basalt fibers can compete with traditional fillers (glass and asbestos fibers) of polypropylene with respect to technological, economic, and toxic properties. The effect of technological parameters of producing polypropylene-based basalt fiber-reinforced plastics (BFRPs) by combined extrusion on their mechanical properties has been investigated. The extrusion temperature was found to be the main parameter determining the mechanical properties of the BFRPs. With temperature growth from 180 to 240°C, the residual length of the basalt fibers in the composite, as well as the adhesive strength of the polymer-fiber system, increased, while the composite defectiveness decreased. The tensile strength and elastic modulus increased from 35 to 42 MPa and 3.2 to 4.2 GPa, respectively. At the same time, the growth in composite solidity led to its higher brittleness. Thus, a higher temperature of extrusion allows us to produce materials which can be subjected to tensile and bending loads, while the materials produced at a lower temperature of extrusion are impact stable. The effect of the gap size between the extruder body and moving disks on the mechanical properties of the BFRPs is less significant than that of temperature. An increase of the gap size from 2 to 8 mm improves the impregnation quality of the fibers, but the extruder productivity diminishes. The possibility of controling the properties of reinforced polypropylene by varying the technological parameters of combined extrusion is shown. The polypropylene-based BFRPs produced by the proposed method surpass the properties of glass and asbestos fiber-reinforced plastics.Submitted to the 10th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, April 20–23, 1998).Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 33, No. 6, pp. 845–850, November–December, 1997.     

Polypropylene reinforced with aramid and glass fibers

The effect of the chemical nature of the aramid fibers Phenylone, Terlon, Armos, and SVM on the mechanical, thermophysical, and antifriction properties of reinforced polypropylene was investigated. It was found that the composite filled with SVM fibers based on a stiff-chain polymer has high tensile strength and bending modulus. Reinforcement of polypropylene with Phenylone stiff-chain fibers produces a composite with a high impact viscosity. Organoplastics based on polypropylene and aramid fibers have a low density and friction coefficient and high durability. Reinforcement of polypropylene with aramid (SVM) and glass fibers increases the technological properties of the composites. The glass-filled organoplastics developed can be used in instrument making, radio engineering, and machine building as antifriction and construction materials.Ukrainian State Chemical Technological University, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 1, pp. 106–110, January–February, 1996.     

Mechanical properties of blends of liquid crystalline copolyesters with polyprophylene

Conclusions A significant effect of the addition of LCP on the mechanical properties and their anisotropy has been established. Already, if one considers the shape of curves of the stress-strain relationship it can be seen that curves typical for semicrystalline polymers (pure polypropylene) with clearly visible yield point and significant cold drawing leading to an anisotropic stiffening are changing into curves without yielding and with a brittle failure (LC-rich blends). Generally, the tensile elasticity modulus increases with increasing LCP content for both MD and TD. The maximum value of anisotropy of elastic properties was noted for a rather low content of LCP (c = 5%). On the contrary, the stress at yield decreases with increasing LCP content. The same was observed for the strain at yield but in both cases an important increase of anisotropy has taken place. Consequently, the total elongation during drawing (strain at break) showed a drastic decrease for blends with higher LCP content (about 60–80 times). The addition of the LCP to polypropylene has led to a stiffness increase (higher elasticity modulus) but simultaneously to a considerable plasticity decrease. As a confirmation of these observations, there served also the creep test where a decrease of the creep compliance (by two times) for LC-rich blends as compared with pure PP was noted.It also should be emphasized that, generally, a smaller effect of LCP content on the elastic deformation was noted than that on the time dependent effects (nonelastic creep deformation).Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 30, No. 4, pp. 442–450, July–August, 1994.     

An infrared spectroscopic study of the breakdown of polymers under load

It has been found that when a uniaxial tension is applied to highly oriented polymer films of polypropylene, polyvinyl alcohol, or polyethylene, an increase in the intensity of the absorption bands corresponding to the vibrations of the C=O carbonyl groups is observed. These groups are produced by the oxidation of the free radicals formed on the rupture of the chemical bonds under the influence of mechanical stress. The composition of the products has been studied, and their concentration has been estimated. Curves giving the accumulation of C=O groups with time at constant load and with increase in stress for a fixed period of time under load have been studied. It is suggested that the rate of accumulation of C=O groups in both cases is determined chiefly by the rate of rupture of the molecular chains under load.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 433–436, May–June 1970.     

Experimental and Numerical Study of Polypropylene/Polyethylene Thin Foil in Biaxial Tension

The material under consideration is a thermoplastic copolymer blend of polypropylene and polyethylene (PP/PE), constituting the core layer of a steel/polymer/steel composite material. A biaxial loading machine was developed for studying the behavior of the copolymer subjected to in-plane complex stress states. A study on the shape of the specimen by means of numerical finite element simulations and preliminary experimental tests are carried out, in order to obtain a maximization of the strain distribution in the middle region of the cruciform specimen. Afterwards, the sensitivity of the mechanical response under both equibiaxial and non-equibiaxial conditions is addressed. All the experiments are monitored by means of a digital image correlation (DIC) system, providing full-field measurements of the displacements, and, consequently, of the strain distribution. The presented experimental results will be used for validating the material model developed for the PP/PE layer material. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Alteration of the mechanical behaviour of polypropylene owing to successive introduction of multiwall carbon nanotubes and stretching

Stretching effects on the morphology of polypropylene/carbon nanotube composites is the focus of this work. The material under investigation was composed of isotactic polypropy lene (iPP) and multiwall car bon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in amount of 0.5 wt.%. The iPP and CNTs were mixed under sonication in a solvent, and the homogenized mixture was melted and pressed. The rectangular plates produced from the material were stretched by a constant load at a fixed temperature in order to obtain extended specimens. The scanning electron microscopy, a thermal gravimetric analysis, and the differential scanning calorimetry were employed to study variations in the structural morphology of the material. A dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the strain-induced crystallization of polypropylene and the possible Stone–Wales transformation of the carbon nanotubes due to stretching improved the mechanical performance of the nanocomposites considered.     

Effect of the type of state of stress on the characteristics of the mechanical glass transition process in polymers

The effect of the type of state of stress on the activation energy and relaxation time is investigated with reference to the mechanical glass transition (softening) process in polymers. An expression relating the mechanical glass transition temperature with the structural glass transition temperature, the mean stress, and the stress intensity is obtained for isotropic homogeneous polymers. Experimental data obtained for polymethyl methacrylate in uniaxial tension and compression, pure bending, and shear are presented.All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Aviation Materials, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 195–199, March–April, 1971.     

Experimental investigation and approximation of the temperature-dependent stiffness of short-fiber reinforced polymers

In order to predict the effective material properties of a short-fiber reinforced polymer (SFRP), homogenization of elastic properties with the self-consistent (SC) scheme and the interaction direct derivative (IDD) method is performed by means of µCT data describing the microstructure of the composite material. Using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), the material properties of both, polypropylene and fiber reinforced polypropylene are investigated by tensile tests under thermal load. The measured storage modulus of the matrix material is used as input parameter for the homogenization scheme. The effective properties of SFRP are compared to experimental results from DMA. (© 2015 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

悬挂封隔器卡瓦作用区段套管应力分布研究

悬挂封隔器上的卡瓦是保证水平井改造工作可靠性的重要元件,锚定后可以起到支撑、锚定封隔器和锁定胶筒的作用.但由于套管是薄壁件,在卡瓦的作用下容易破坏而造成不良后果,因此对卡瓦作用段套管的受力情况进行力学分析显得尤为重要,通过建立数学模型确定卡瓦作用区段套管的应力分布情况.结果显示,封隔器的坐封力会加大套管的环向应力,悬重会加大套管的轴向应力,两者一起会使得套管应力大幅上升,甚至造成套管产生缺陷.得到的理论公式为水平井改造现场判断悬挂封隔器作用段套管应力提供了预估参考.     

An Improved Constitutive Statistical Damage Model of a Multisize Polypropylene-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Under Compression

Mechanics of Composite Materials - To study the effect of multisize polypropylene fibers on the compression characteristics of concrete cubes, ten sets of polypropylene fiber-reinforced concrete...     

Finite element modeling of welding processes

This work deals with the simulation of fusion welding by the Finite Element Method. The implemented models include a moving heat source, temperature dependence of thermo-physical properties, elasto-plasticity, non-steady state heat transfer, and mechanical analysis. The thermal problem is assumed to be uncoupled from the mechanical one, so the thermal analysis is performed separately and previously to the mechanical analysis at each time step. The mechanical problem is based on the thermal history. A special treatment is performed on mechanical elements during the liquid/solid and solid/liquid phase changes to account for stress states. The three-dimensional stress state of a butt-welded joint is obtained as an example of an application.     

Growth of arterial cracks in polymers subject to static and fatigue loading

The growth kinetics of artificial and natural cracks (the former arising from notches) are studied in viscose, di- and triacetyl cellulose, nitrocellulose, polymethylmethacrylate, polystyrene, polypropylene, and carpon films by a micro-motion-picture method over a wide temperature range under both static and cyclic (fatigue) loading. In all the cellulose materials studied, the time required to form the nuclei of visible cracks is much shorter than the total life of the sample. The initial rate of crack growth depends exponentially on the applied stress and test temperature, so that the equation for the growth rate of an arterial crack is analogous to the general life equation. The different ways in which stress and test temperature affect the parameters of the equation describing the kinetics of crack growth enable us to distinguish the effect of local heating and that of the relaxation processes in the fatigue problem.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 253–265, March–April, 1970.     

Electrostrictive stresses near crack-like flaws

Slit cracks in purely dielectric material systems do not perturb any applied uniform electric field. Furthermore, when the dielectric is unconstrained and does not support any conducting plates or mechanical loads, there are no additional mechanical stresses generated in the material upon introduction of the crack. This situation applies to both electrostrictive and piezoelectric materials. However, flaws which have finite thickness such as thin elliptical or ellipsoidal voids will cause severe inhomogeneous concentration of the electric field. In turn, this can generate substantial mechanical stress from electrostrictive or piezoelectric sources. The effect of an elliptical through flaw in an infinite isotropic body is considered. It is found that, in the case of thin ellipses, the near flaw tip mechanical stresses approximate the singular stresses near a slit crack with an equivalent stress intensity factor. In that sense, the flaw may be considered as a slit crack and treated in terms of linear elastic fracture mechanics. However, except for impermeable and conducting flaws, the value of the equivalent stress intensity factor depends on the aspect ratio of the flaw. As the aspect ratio of the flaw diminishes, the magnitude of the equivalent stress intensity factor falls and disappears in the limit of a slit crack. The results are used to show that a flaw-like crack in a material with a very high dielectric constant can be treated by fracture mechanics as an impermeable slit crack when the flaw aspect ratio is an order of magnitude greater than the ratio of dielectric permittivities (flaw value divided by the value for the surrounding material).     

A unified thermal-hardening and thermal-softening constitutive model of soils

Based on the modified Cam-clay model and the concept of subloading yield surface, a thermo-elastoplastic model of normally consolidated and overconsolidated soils is presented in detail. The model is able to describe the thermal-hardening and thermal-softening mechanical behavior of soils with a unified set of parameters. A thermo-induced equivalent stress is proposed to consider the effect of temperature on yield surface and evolution of overconsolidation during shearing process. At the same time, the effect of temperature on the shear stress ratio at the critical state is also implemented in the model. Through comparing the simulated results with test results under different loading and temperature conditions, the availability and the accuracy of the proposed model are carefully verified. Finally, the generating mechanism of the thermal-hardening and thermal-softening mechanical behavior of soil under non-isothermal condition is discussed based on the proposed model.     

A coupled mixed problem for a system of electrodes on the surface of a prestressed electroelastic structurally inhomogeneous half-space

The features of the interaction of a system of electrodes with a prestressed structurally inhomogeneous piezoactive half-space are investigated. The problem is reduced to a convolution equation on a system of sections, to solve which, a generalization of a previously proposed method is used, which enables the dynamic properties of the medium to be taken into account with high accuracy. Using the example of the problem of the excitation of shear oscillations of a weakly inhomogeneous piezoactive half-space, it is shown that the effect of the initial mechanical stresses on the electric-induction distribution in the contact zone for a homogeneous and bipolar system of five and nine electrodes is independent of the number of electrodes, but depends considerably on the form of the initial stress state. A triaxial stress state has the strongest effect on the electric-induction distribution.     

Effect of psycho-emotional stress and physical activity on change in the mechanical properties of the artery walls with age

The effect of psycho-emotional stress and physical activity on the changes in the mechanical properties of the artery walls with age is established on the basis of data on the pulse-wave velocity in the aorta and in the arteries of the limbs of more or less healthy individuals aged from 11 to 60 years.     

Investigation of the Stress-Strain State of Viscoelastic Piecewise-Homogeneous Bodies by the Method of Boundary Integral Equations

The problem on the stress state of a viscoelastic half-plane containing a finite number of inclusions of arbitrary shape and subjected to the action of distributed tangential and normal loads on its boundary is considered. Integral representations for the displacement vector and stress tensor are obtained for the case of an ideal mechanical contact on the conjugation contour of the regions. Discrete analogues of the boundary-temporal integral equations are constructed with account for the singularities of the stress field near the corner points. A numerical calculation is performed and the mechanical effects for an epoxy matrix with metal inclusions are analyzed.     

Size effect on pull-in behavior of electrostatically actuated microbeams based on a modified couple stress theory

A variety of micro-scale experiments have demonstrated that the mechanical property of some metals and polymers on the order of micron scale are size dependence. Taking into account the size effect on the mechanical property of materials and the inherent nonlinear property of electrostatic force, the static pull-in behavior of an electrostatically actuated Bernoulli–Euler microbeam is analyzed on the basis of a modified couple stress theory. The approximate analytical solutions to the pull-in voltage and pull-in displacement of the microbeam are derived by using the Rayleigh–Ritz method. The results show that the normalized pull-in voltage of the microbeam increases by a factor of 3.1 as the microbeam thickness equals to the material length scale parameter and exhibits size effect remarkably. However, the size effect on the pull-in voltage is almost diminishing as the microbeam thickness is far greater than the material length scale parameter. The normalized pull-in displacement of the microbeam exhibits size independence and equals to 0.448 and 0.398 for the cantilever beam and clamped–clamped beam, respectively.     

Antifriction basalt-plastics based on polypropylene

A study is made of the dependence of the mechanical and friction-engineering properties of polypropylene reinforced with basalt fibers on the viscosity of the polymer matrix. It is established that the main factors that determine the mechanical properties of the plastics are the quality of impregnation of the fibers by the binder and the residual length of the reinforcing filler in the composite after extrusion and injection molding. The material that was developed has a low friction coefficient and low rate of wear within a relatively brood range of friction conditions. The basalt-plastics can be used in the rubbing parts of machines and mechanisms subjected to dry friction.Ukrainian State Chemicotechnical University, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov,33, No. 3, pp. 417–421, May–June, 1997.