Creep and damage accumulation in orthotropic composites under cyclic loading

Experimental results and theoretical prediction of the response of glassfiber-reinforced polyester under quasi-static, static (creep), and cyclic (fatigue) loading are presented. The nonlinear strain component at static loading and the strain amplitude rate at cyclic off-axis loading of an orthotropic composite are shown to follow the associated flow rule with a single-parameter quadratic potential function. The influence of fatigue damage on deformation is considerable due to the reduction in the elastic modulus of the composite and is apparently negligible with respect to its effect on the parameters of the creep kernel.Presented at the 10th International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, April 20–23, 1998).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 447–460, July–August, 1998.     

Multiaxial constitutive modeling of aircraft engine materials

Based on a newly developed theory (Lu and Weng, Acta Mech., in press) the high temperature behavior of an aircraft engine material is studied under combined stress state. Both monotonic and cyclic deformations are examined to uncover its stress-strain response, as well as its cyclic hardening and strain-ratchetting characteristics. Under a biaxial loading it is disclosed that tensile cyclic hardening is greatly magnified with a superimposed lateral tension, whereas the strain-ratchetting process is led to an enhanced, unsettling state with a superimposed lateral compression. The biaxial transient and steady-state creep strains have also been calculated. The results suggest that while a superimposed lateral tension will inhibit the creep deformation, a lateral compression can greatly promote the inelastic flow. To reflect the practical service conditions of an aircraft engine, the theory is further applied to examine the effect of loading frequency on the development of inelastic strains under concurrent thermal and mechanical loading. It is found that a more frequently flying aircraft will have a greater accumulation of creep strains and, consequently, a greater possibility of material damage in its engine components over the same total flying time.     

Low-cycle fatigue of a composite substance containing a dispersed filler in cyclic compression

Conclusions 1. The lifetime of a composite material having a dispersed filler has been examined under conditions of low-cycle compression.2. It has been shown that, in distinction from materials of fibrous structure, the lifetime of this material is determined, not by a breakdown in the continuity of structure, but the deformability of the polymer matrix.3. The absence of a correlation between the static and fatigue strengths of composite mateials from cold and hot curing is caused by the different effect of the structure of the cured binder as a component of the material on the ultimate static characteristics and creep, whose relaxation character is more clearly expressed.4. Creep of the binder and the strength of the microspheres are the main factors which determine the lifetime of the material in question in cyclic compression.All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Synthetic Resins, Vladimir. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 653–657, July–August, 1978.     

Multifibre polymer composites: Prediction of deformation and thermophysical properties

Conclusions A theoretical and experimental investigation was carried out to examine the possibilities of a structural approach for prediction of elastic constants, creep functions and thermophysical characteristics of hybrid polymer composites reinforced with anisotropic fibres of several types. The theoretical solutions were obtained by generalizing the self-consistent method for the case of a three phase model. The effects of brittle fibre breakdown under tension in the direction of reinforcement of a unidirectional hybrid composite were studied under conditions of a short-term loading and a long-term creep. It has been shown that a creep of viscoelastic fibres plays a principal role in creep of the hybrid composite. It is just this creep that significantly increases the fibre damage during creep of the composite.A variant of the solution has been proposed for predicting the thermorheologically complex behavior of hybrid composites containing not only elastic but also viscoelastic thermorheologically simple components with different temperature-time shift factors. The peculiarities of thermal expansion of hybrid composites and the possibilities for a purposeful control of thermal expansion coefficients by hybridization were studied. The considered thermal interval included a region of transition of the polymer matrix from a glass state into a viscoelastic one.The control tests were performed for specimens of organic/glass, organic/carbon, glass/carbon and organic/boron polymer composites with different ratios of fibre volume contents. On the whole, the obtained accuracy of predicting the characteristics of the examined hybrid composites may be considered as acceptable for engineering applications.Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 299–313, May–June, 1994.     

Analysis of the Stress State of the Surface Layer of a Polymeric Mass upon Filling of Bulky Compression Molds

The stress state of the surface layer of a polymeric mass during filling of bulky compression molds is analyzed. It is shown that, at particular rheological characteristics of the mass, temperature, and filling rates, cracking of the surface layer occurs, which leads to defects in the finished products. A physical analysis of this process makes it possible to conclude that the cracks arise due to the normal stresses operating in the front region of the moving polymeric mass. It is found that, under certain flow conditions, areas with a pressure lower than the atmospheric one appear on the surface of the polymer. If the tensile stresses arising in these local regions are higher than the tensile strength of the mass, the continuity of the composition is broken in the direction determined by the greatest rate of the normal deformation. To confirm the reliability of the crack-formation mechanism proposed, the distribution of the pressure and normal stresses over the free surface is calculated based on a numerical method. These calculations show that, by comparing the stress level achieved in the front region with the tensile-strength characteristics of the polymeric composition, it is possible to predict, with a sufficient accuracy, the possibility of crack formation in the surface layer of such a mass under given flow conditions and thus to solve the question on flawless manufacturing of products.     

High-Temperature Creep of Fibrous Metal-Matrix Composites under Varying Stresses

The present paper is aimed at testing the hypothesis about the failure of the relatively weak fiber/matrix interface under cyclic loading, which causes an increase in the steady-state creep rate. The hypothesis is tested qualitatively by comparing the creep behavior of composite specimens with various interface strengths under the conditions mentioned (loading-unloading-loading to the original level). The hypothesis is tested semi-quantitatively by estimating the interface strength in relation to the action decreasing the strength. The latter requires the use of a microstructural calculation model. Both the approaches are used in the paper, and the results found support this hypothesis. The experimental data obtained are an additional argument for the necessity of developing metal-matrix composites with a strong interface, which can be a basis for real creep-resistant high-temperature composites.     

Calculation of one-dimensional polymer creep under stepped loading

A graphic method is proposed for calculating polymer creep under stepped loading. The method is based on the equations of nonlinear viscoelasticity. It can be used to describe the aftereffects of specimens of polyethylene terephthalate film and the creep of tubular plexiglas specimens at sharply varying stresses. The agreement with experimental data is satisfactory.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 671–675, 1967     

Effects of temperature and moisture on the mechanical properties of polyester resin in tension

The effect of environment on the physical and mechanical properties of composite materials in some cases is determined by the environmental sensitivity of the binder. The results of experimental investigation of the deformability and strength of polyester resin, widely used as a binder in composites, upon the action of stationary and quasi-stationary loads, temperatures, and moisture are presented. The ranges of acceptable values of these services factors are determined. The elastic modulus and tensile strength of the material are obtained from quasi-static tests. The viscoelastic behavior of the resin is investigated in creep tests. From the results of a short-term experiment with stepwise loading up to failure, it is found that the creep of specimens with a moisture content of 0.14% can be described by a linear viscoelastic model for stresses up to 20 MPa (two thirds of the strength). The action of single loading impulses is summarized according to the Boltzmann superposition principle. The temperature and absorbed moisture are considered as factors accelerating the relaxation processes in the material. The creep activation under the action of these factors is described using the methods of time-temperature and time-moisture equivalence. The results of short-term creep tests allow us to determine the relaxation characteristics of the material in stationary conditions. The long-term creep under close-to-service conditions is predicted using these data and quite good agreement with the control test is obtained. The sensitivity of the material characteristics (strength, elastic modulus, and creep strain) to the action of temperature and moisture is estimated. The creep strain is most sensitive to the action of environmental factors. For a fully saturated material (moisture content 1.64 wt.%), after one hour creep, this strain four times exceeds that of a dry one. The same growth in deformability is caused by an 18°C increase in temperature. A quantitative comparison of the characteristics of polyester and epoxy resins allows us to choose the binder for composites and to estimate the expected environmental effect. Presented at the 11th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, June 11–15, 2000). Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 395–406, May–June, 2000.     

Acoustic creep of glass-fiber-reinforced plastic

A method of investigating acoustic creep of polymer composites developing under the effect of static tensile forces and small amplitudes of dynamic stresses with a frequency of 20 kHz acting coaxially with the static loads is considered. Results of investigating acoustic creep of glass-fabric-reinforced plastic are presented. It is shown that the presence of a high-frequency stress component regularly accelerates relaxation processes and reduces considerably the deformation resistance of the material. Generalized curves simulating the long-time static creep of reinforced plastic are constructed by the method of temperature-time, stress-time, and vibration-time analogies. The results of prediction are compared with the control experiment.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 397–404, May–June, 1973.     

Creep and failure of polypropylene under low-frequency cyclic loadings

The results of tests on polypropylene specimens under conditions of low-frequency cyclic and static loading are compared. It is shown that as compared with static tests, there is an increase in longevity and a reduction in overall deformation under low-frequency cyclic loadings.     

Grapho-analytical method of calculating the deformation of a viscoelastic rod in axial tension under nonstationary temperature conditions

The strains in the material are calculated on the basis of a compound mechanical model consisting of a system of individual elastico-viscous models of the Maxwell type. This model makes it possible to allow for the time dependence of the temperatures and stresses in the cross sections of bodies of simple shape—rod, plate, thin-walled shell—and to calculate the strains under nonstationary temperature conditions from the creep curves for reinforced plastics with allowance for the previous loading history both under a constant load and for an arbitrary loading law.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 413–420, 1966     

Testing methods for predicting the life of polymeric materials

On the assumption that the performance of polymeric materials can be predicted only on the basis of long-time tests under conditions similar to those that obtain in practice, the authors consider creep, stress relaxation, and dynamic measurements at various temperatures and frequencies. Theoretical methods of estimating the life of polymeric materials are investigated with allowance for changes in the physical and chemical structure of the polymer and the nonconstancy of the activation energy of the relaxation processes over a broad temperature interval.Lenin Moscow State Pedagogical Institute, Laboratory of Problems Polymer Physics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 212–220, March–April, 1971.     

Nondestructive evaluation of fatigue-induced changes in the structure of composites by an ultrasonic method using a laser

Studies were conducted to nondestructively evaluate the damage to a glass-fiber-reinforced plastic during cyclic and static loading. The evaluation was made by an ultrasonic method employing a laser. In both the unloaded and loaded specimens, the ultrasound attenuation spectrum has a resonance peak attributable to the periodic nature of the structure of the composite. This peak is shifted to the low-frequency region during static loading, due to a decrease in the elastic modulus. The spectra obtained after cyclic loading have no resonance peaks, due to attenuation of the ultrasound over a broad range of frequencies by a large number of fatigue cracks. Additional static loading results in concentration of the cracks near the boundary between the glass fibers and the polymer matrix, which leads to the formation of a resonance peak in the high-frequency region of the spectrum.Paper to be presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, October, 1995).Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 405–410, May–June, 1995.     

Creep of polymer concrete in the nonlinear region

Two polyester-based polymer concretes with various volume content of diabase as an extender and aggregate are tested in creep under compression at different stress levels. The phenomenological and structural approaches are both used to analyze the experimental data. Common features of changes in the instantaneous and creep compliances are clarified, and a phenomenological creep model which accounts for the changes in the instantaneous compliance and in the retardation spectrum depending on the stress level is developed. It is shown that the model can be used to describe the experimental results of stress relaxation and creep under repeated loading. Modeling of the composite structure and subsequent solution of the optimization problem confirm the possibility of the existence of an interphase layer more compliant than the binder. A direct correlation between the interphase volume content and the instantaneous compliance of the composite is revealed. It is found that the distinction in nonlinearity of the viscoelastic behavior of the two polymer concretes under investigation can be due to the difference in their porosity. Submitted to the 11th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, June 11–15, 2000.) Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 147–164, 2000.     

Comparison of the reliefs of fracture surfaces in PMMA under static and cyclic loading

Investigations of the relief of fracture surfaces in PMMA with the help of optical and interference microscopes have shown that there are no qualitative differences in the appearance of the fracture surfaces obtained under static and cyclic loading conditions. Quantitative studies have established that the size of the specular zone increases linearly with increase in the logarithm of the lifetime at a given test temperature. Other conditions being equal, in cyclic tests the specular zone is larger than in static tests. The results obtained are considered to be further confirmation of the validity of the theory that under any loading conditions fracture is based on the same thermo-fluctuation mechanism.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 52–59, 1966     

Hereditary theory of creep and low-cycle fatigue of polymeric materials

The results of an investigation of the creep of polymethyl methacrylate under alternating loading and recovery are presented. The experiments ended in the failure of the specimen. The creep data obtained are described on the basis of the nonlinear Boltzmann-Persoz theory and Bryzgalin's theory of hereditary recovery. Korabel'nikov's result, according to which for alternating loading and recovery the total time under load up to failure is less than the static life of the polymer, is confirmed.Institute of Problems of Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow; Scientific-Research Institute of Mechanics, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 615–621, July–August, 1970.     

Viscoelastic properties of a silica-filled styrene-butadiene rubber under uniaxial tension

A model composite — a silica-filled styrene-butadiene rubber with a various filler volume content — was tested for creep and creep recovery at different tensile load levels to evaluate the effect of viscoelasticity on the deformational properties of filled rubbers. A constitutive equation describing the diagram of equilibrium deformation of the composite in quasi-static loading was obtained from an analysis of creep test results. The equation was common for the filled rubber at different filler content. The existence of such a curve has been confirmed by experimental unloading diagrams registered in cyclic loading-unloading tests. It is shown that the phenomenological equations obtained from an analysis of creep recovery test results can be used successfully for describing the hysteresis loops of second and subsequent cycles for cyclic tests with a constant maximum stretch ratio.     

高体积百分比颗粒增强聚合物材料的有效粘弹性性质

聚合物材料通常表现为粘弹性性质．为了改进聚合物材料的力学性能,通常将某种无机材料以颗粒或纤维的形式填充到聚合物中,从而得到增强、增韧的聚合物基复合材料．提出了一个新的细观力学模型,用于预测颗粒增强聚合物复合材料的有效粘弹性性质,尤其针对高体积百分比的颗粒夹杂复合材料,该方法基于Laplace变换和双夹杂相互作用的弹性模型．计算了玻璃微珠/ED-6复合材料的有效松弛模量以及恒应变率下的应力应变关系．计算结果表明在高体积百分比下该文方法比基于Mori Tanaka方法预测的粘弹性效应明显减弱．     

Fatigue failure criteria and degradation rules for composites under multiaxial loadings

To develop design rules for dynamically loaded composite structures, extensive static and cyclic tension/compression-torsion tests were carried out on carbon-fibre-reinforced composites, in which especially the important influence of multiaxial loading conditions on their fatigue behaviour was investigated. Physically based failure criteria for static loadings are modified for multiaxial cyclic loadings, and a good agreement with experiments is achieved. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 631–641, September–October, 2006.