On the effect of the different notching techniques on the fracture toughness of PETG

The fracture toughness of poly (ethylene terephthalate) modified glycol (PETG) has been evaluated using notch sharpening techniques which could be grouped into contact and non-contact procedures. Razor blade tapping, razor blade sliding, razor pressing and broaching are part of the first group, while the femtolaser technique belongs to the second one. Not all the contact procedures generated valid sharp cracks for fracture parameter assessment; indeed none of the samples sharpened via razor sliding generated acceptable sharp cracks. The results revealed that the non-contact femtolaser technique produced the sharpest cracks in this polymer, with crack tip radii of only 0.5 μm, leading to the lowest fracture toughness values. On the contrary, the traditional notch sharpening technique based on razor tapping, recommended in ISO, ESIS and ASTM protocols and standards, generated larger crack tip radii than those introduced via femtolaser and, consequently, resulted in higher fracture toughness values. Both broaching and pressing methods created specimens with smaller crack tip radii compared to those obtained by razor tapping, and hence resulting in intermediate fracture toughness values.     

The time and temperature dependence of fracture toughness for thermoplastics

A method for obtaining comparative and intrinsic toughness of thermoplastics involves deriving two apparent material properties, yield stress and a critical value of stress field intensity factor (fracture toughness). These are obtained at various times under load and temperatures. A ductility factor can then be derived and is the ratio of the square of fracture toughness to yield stress. Ductility factors can create a league table of toughness for thermoplastics which correlates reasonably with impact toughness energies.Individual values of fracture toughness and yield stress provide an intrinsic measure of toughness. Consequently, the relative toughness of a range of thermoplastics are explained in these terms. Materials discussed include homopolymers and copolymers of propylene, uPVC, PMMA (and rubber toughened versions) and PES.There is an importance in obtaining geometry independent fracture toughness measurements, otherwise likely artefacts are introduced. Such considerations are discussed for uPVC and polypropylene materials.     

Experimental study of the effect of disk obstacle rotating with Different angular ratios on heat transfer and pressure drop in a pipe with turbulent flow

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This article presents the effects of a circular disk obstacle with different angle ratios on heat transfer and pressure drop under a turbulent flow...     

Influence of morphology on the fracture toughness of isotactic polypropylene

An adaptation of the fracture toughness test method, the J-integral technique, is described within the general framework of polymer fracture behavior. It is shown that there is a strong interaction between different morphological parameters in the way they affect the fracture behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP). The fracture toughness decreases with increasing crystallinity at a fixed spherulite size. The fracture toughness also decreases slightly with increasing spherulite size at a constant crystallinity, but this may not be a pure spherulite size effect. The use of a nucleating agent results in a very fine spherulitic structure but facilitates crack growth and reduces the material toughness beyond the crack initiation stage. This suggests that the material behavior is dictated by the increase in crystallization temperature caused by the presence of the nucleating agent and not by the change in spherulite size. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The effect of plasticizer on the ageing of Metolose films

The film-forming material, Metolose, was studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy. It is known that above a given concentration the plasticizer (PEG) forms a separate phase. The controlled ageing of the films showed that there is a difference between the ageing processes of the monophase and that of the separated phase films. The ageing consists of a fast and a slow step in both cases. Our PAS measurements showed that this slow process is hindered in the phase-separated samples.     

Convective heat transfer performance of hybrid nanofluid in a horizontal pipe considering nanoparticles shapes effect

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In the present paper, the first and second laws of thermodynamics are utilized to select the optimized position of porous insert to achieve maximum...     

The effect of emissivity on heat transfer

Emissivity has been found to play a key role in heat transfer even at relatively low temperatures. Two general equations have been derived which allow one to estimate the emissivity of different materials for this system.     

The effect of different hardeners on the ageing of crosslinked epoxy resins

Polymers based on epoxies are widely used in the industrial production of materials for different applications. The crosslinking is often done with hardeners like aliphatic or aromatic amines, with dicarboxylic acid anhydride or anionically. The resins containing mineral fillers possess similar thermal mechanical properties. On thermal oxidative ageing, however, the systems behave very differently. An account is given of the thermal mechanical behaviour and of the weight loss on ageing above the glass transition temperature. By using semiempirical molecular orbital calculations we have been able to identify a possible reason for the different thermal oxidative stability of epoxy resins crosslinked with different hardeners.     

Translaminar fracture toughness testing of composites: A review

A comprehensive review of techniques for the experimental characterisation of the fracture toughness associated with the translaminar (fibre-breaking) failure modes of continuously reinforced laminated composites is presented. The collection of work relating to tensile failure reveals a varied approach in terms of specimen configuration, size and data reduction, despite the existence of an ASTM standard. Best practices are identified and suggestions for extending the scope of the current standard are made. Works on compressive failure are found to be less comprehensive. Measurement of the toughness associated with initiation of the failure mode in isolation has been achieved, but this review finds that significant research steps need to be taken before a resistance curve can be fully characterised.     

On the experimental measurement of fracture toughness in SENT rubber specimens

This work provides a direct comparison of several experimental approaches used in the literature to measure fracture toughness of rubber of rubber using single edge notched in tension (SENT) specimens, with the final aim to provide guidelines for an optimal testing procedure. Digital image correlation measurements were used to get new insights into the fracture process. SENT is experimentally advantageous because of the simple preparation from laboratory plates and the small amount of material required. The most common experimental approaches to measure fracture toughness of rubber rely on the energy release rate, measured by the tearing energy or the J-integral parameters. This work points out the importance of experimental conditions and test procedures: long specimens and short notches are preferred, identification of fracture initiation from the front view is necessary, strain energy density should not be evaluated from un-notched specimens at the critical stretch level, rather alternative strategies are shown in this work.     

The effect of coating on the stiffness and toughness of encapsulated fiber composites

The effect of the coating of the fiber on the stiffness and toughness of composite materials is presented in this paper. The type of composite material considered is of a macroscopically isotropic composite medium containing coated fibers. The models used to simulate such materials consists of: the cylindrical fiber, a cylindrical annulus of the coating, an annulus of the matrix enveloped by an infinite region of an equivalent composite consisting of a transversely isotropic material and representing the real composite with dispersed coated fibers. Solutions for the longitudinal, transverse and shear elastic moduli in the four-phase model were established assuming linear elastic conditions. The results were found to depend on the extent and the mechanical properties of the coating. The stiffness and toughness of the composite were evaluated in models representing plane-stress equatorial sections of the representative volume element of the real material according to the Hashin-Rosen model. The stiffness of the fiber composites was studied by varying the rigidity and the extent of the fiber-coating in the model and evaluating its influence on the overall mechanical behavior of the model. On the other hand, the toughness of the composite was evaluated by the method of caustics in models made of composite PMMA plates with PMMA inclusions coated with a ductile annulus. Interesting results were derived concerning the influence of the soft annulus on the mechanical behavior of the composite.     

Effects of thermal ageing on mechanical and thermal behaviors of linear low density polyethylene pipe

The mechanical and thermal behaviors of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) pipe with variation in thermal exposure time were studied. The prolongation of thermal exposure time leads to a progressive increase, until 6000 h, in tensile strength and a slight increase in hardness, while a proportional decrease in elongation at break. These results can be explained by the increase of crystallinity, followed by the increase of crosslinking density and the decrease in chain mobility due to thermal oxidation as the exposure time increases. The additional ageing to the antioxidant-depleted LLDPE pipe induces the formation of T2 endotherm, which leads to a negative effect in mechanical properties. Long-term hydrostatic pressure test result implies the existence of transition point from ductile to brittle fracture in terms of the thermal exposure time. Chemiluminescence (CL) and oxidation induction time (OIT) tests are employed to monitor the thermo-oxidative degradation of LLDPE pipe. The CL emission intensity increases with increasing with thermal exposure time. Furthermore, the OIT result suggests that after 6000 h of the thermal ageing, the depletion of antioxidant originally added in LLDPE pipe occurs. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy results show the increase of carbonyl (-CO) and hydroxyl (O-H) function groups on the surface of thermally exposed LLDPE pipe. This result suggests that the hydrocarbon groups locally undergo the oxidation on the LLDPE surface due to thermal degradation.     

Role of matrix-particle interface adhesion on fracture toughness of dual phase epoxy-polyethersulfone blend

Compatibility or miscibility of a polyethersulfone (ICI: Victrex 100P) and a tetrafunctional epoxy (Ciba-Geigy: MY-720), cured with an aromatic anhydride, has been studied using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray microanalysis, and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy. Fracture toughness of epoxy and a blend of epoxy and polyethersulfone has been measured using three point bend tests (ASTM: E-399-81). Fracture surfaces were examined by x-ray microanalysis for detecting concentration of sulfur, present in polyethersulfone, in the matrix and precipitated phase. The influence of the morphology of the epoxy/polyethersulfone blend on its fracture toughness and toughening mechanism has been studied. Fracture toughness values of unmodified and modified cured epoxy resin were evaluated as a function of test temperature.     

Influence of probability distribution in measurement uncertainty of plane-strain fracture toughness test

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - The evaluation of measurement uncertainty by testing laboratories has a direct impact on the interpretation of the results. In several cases, it is recommended...     

Correlation between the fractal dimension of fracture surfaces and fracture toughness for ductile polymer materials

A microcrack-shear band chain model for the fracture of ductile materials is proposed. The fractal dimension (D) of the fracture surfaces is derived and correlated with the fracture toughness (K_Ic) of ductile materials. The fractal dimension of the fracture surface is predicted to have an inverse trend with the fracture toughness. The theoretical results are consistent with the experimental results of some polymers and metals. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Quantitative assessment of deformation-induced damage in polyethylene pressure pipe

This paper presents results from a study that quantifies the influence of excessive deformation on the damage development in polyethylene (PE) pressure pipe. The experimental investigation is through the application of a novel two-stage approach to the D-split test of notched pipe ring (NPR) specimens. The first test is to introduce damage by subjecting the specimens to different levels of tensile strain at crosshead speeds of 0.01, 1, 10 or 100 mm/min. The second test is to apply monotonic tensile loading at a crosshead speed of 0.01 mm/min to characterize the mechanical properties for specimens that have had damage generated in the first test. Experimental results suggest that elastic modulus and yield stress decrease and yield strain increases with increase of the strain introduced in the first test. Variation of experimentally measured elastic modulus is used to establish influence of crosshead speed on the damage evolution in the PE pressure pipe.     

Application of heat pipe technology in thermal analysis of metals

Summary Thermal analysis has been used in foundry applications to assess the quality of the melt before casting. The high-end thermal analysis techniques such as DSC or DTA are expensive and not suitable for foundry applications. The Computer-Aided Cooling Curve Analysis (CA-CCA) method based on one thermocouple has been widely used as a batch process with poor control over heat extraction and cooling rates during solidification. A heat pipe apparatus has been developed as a thermal analysis tool. The apparatus can assess the melt quality more accurately, as well as, allow for better control of heating and cooling rates. Moreover, the solidification process can be modeled more accurately, and thus the casting parameters affecting the casting quality can be closely simulated and consequently controlled. In this paper the principles of a heat-pipe assisted thermal analysis system are highlighted. The advantages of the new system are described and the possibility of its adoption in melt assessments is discussed.