Effect of hydrostatic pressure on the deformation properties of polymer materials

It is suggested that the bulk modulus of homogeneous polymer materials is a function of the specific volume only. The dependence of the bulk modulus and Young's modulus on temperature and hydrostatic pressure is determined on the basis of this assumption. It is shown that the Young's modulus must be higher in compression than in tension. The experimental data are confirmed by the relations obtained. The effect of hydrostatic pressure on the relaxation properties of materials is discussed.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, ASLatSSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 986–991, November–December, 1968.     

Simulation of eye deformation in the measurement of intraocular pressure

The procedure of measuring the intraocular pressure by an optical analyzer is numerically simulated. The cornea and the sclera are considered as axisymmetrically deformable shells of revolution with fixed boundaries; the space between these shells is filled with incompressible fluid. Nonlinear shell theory is used to describe the stressed and strained state of the cornea and sclera. The optical system is calculated from the viewpoint of the geometrical optics. Dependences between the pressure in the air jet and the area of the surface reflecting the light into a photodetector are obtained. The shapes of the regions on the cornea surface are found from which the reflected light falls on the photodetector. First, the light is reflected from the center of the cornea, but then, as the cornea deforms, the light is reflected from its periphery. The numerical results make it possible to better interpret the measurement data.     

Shear strength and laws of shear deformation of some cross-linked resins

The authors present the results of an experimental investigation and comparison with theory of certain laws of shear deformation and shear strength for rigid cross-linked resins. The possibility of describing the state of strain of homogeneous isotropic polymers by means of the generalized nonlinear Maxwell equation is considered. The results of an investigation of thin-walled tubular specimens of three cross-linked polymers based on epoxy resins and one linear polymer are offered as a check on the corresponding theoretical relations. The agreement between the theoretical and experimental results is perfectly satisfactory. Experimental values of the high-elastic constants in shear and tension have been determined. It is shown that the theoretical and experimental relations coincide with satisfactory accuracy. Certain experimental data on the comparative conditions of failure in shear and tension are presented.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 214–228, 1966     

Effect of an electron beam on the structure of epoxy resins

It is shown that exposing a cured epoxy resin to the action of an electron beam leads to a change in the structure outside the zone of direct action of the beam; this is accompanied by the formation of diffraction rings in the electron diffraction pattern and a change in microhardness.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 523–525, May–June, 1976.     

Effect of fillers on the structure and properties of cured resins

The elastic (modulus of elasticity and equilibrium high-elastic modulus) and thermal (volume coefficients of thermal expansion below and above the glass transition temperature) properties of compositions based on ÉD-5 epoxy resin cured with polyethylenepolyamine have been investigated. Quartz powder and aluminoborosilicate glass powder were employed as fillers at concentrations from 0 to 0.413. The thermal expansion coefficients of the compositions were studied in a dilatometer, in which the specimen is free of mechanical loads. The Young's modulus at 25°C and the equilibrium high-elastic modulus at 125°C of the compositions were determined in the compression regime in an instrument based on the IZV-2 optical length gage. The thermal expansion coefficients of the polymer matrix were calculated with allowance for the elastic properties of the resin and the filler. It is shown that, as the filler concentration increases, the thermal and elastic properties of the resin in the filled system change. This can be interpreted as a change in the properties of the resin as it approaches the surface of the filler particles. Increased interaction between the filler surface and the epoxy resin tends to stiffen the polymer network.Scientific Research Institute of Precision Technology, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1018–1022, November–December, 1969.     

Effect of fillers on the structure and properties of cured resins

It is shown for the first time that the increased strength of filled plastics is associated with an increase of the internal pressure in the resin determined by the nature of the filler surface and the curing conditions.For communication 1, see [1].Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 54–58, January–February, 1970.     

Dependence of the crystallization kinetics of cis-1,4-polybutadiene vulcanizates on the type and degree of deformation

The effect of tension and compression on the crystallization rate of cis-1, 4-polybutadiene vulcanizate has been investigated. The crystallization kinetics of deformed specimens were studied by measuring the stress relaxation. A linear relation, common to tension and compression, was observed between the logarithm of the crystallization half-period (log _1/2) and the true stress in the specimens before the onset of crystallization. The crystallization time of the unstressed specimen can be found from the intersection of the straight line with the log _1/2 axis. The dependence of log _1/2 on the degree of deformation is linear only in the region of relatively small strains.Lebedev All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 929–931, September–October, 1970.     

Structural damage accumulation and stable postcritical deformation of composite materials

The macroscopic failure of composite materials is preceded by complex multilevel processes accompanied by accumulation and localization of damaged centers and formation of a failure cluster. Therefore, the study of these mechanisms is one of the basic problems for the mechanics of modern composite materials used in aerospace engineering. The formation of a theory of the stable postcritical deformation of the work-softening media is considered. The pseudo-plastic deformation affected by structural damage of granular composites is investigated within the framework of the considered two-level structurally phenomenological model of heterogeneous media. The stable evolution of the interconnected processes is accompanied by stress redistributions, partial or complete unloading, and strain or damage localization that are one of the main causes of implementation of the postcritical deformation stage. The numerical calculation results of inelastic deformation and failure of the periodic unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites are presented under conditions of the displacement-controlled transverse proportional loading mode. The main mechanisms of the work-softening behavior for the indicated type of materials are described in the macro-homogeneous stress-strain states. Macroscopically, the failure of heterogeneous media as a result of postcritical deformation and the loss of stability of damage accumulation depends on the stiffness of the loading system. When a deformable body is fixed on the closed surface with sufficiently but not infinitely large coefficients of stiffness, it is possible to observe the equilibrium development of the localized volumes of work-softening and damage. The constitutive equations for the work-softening isotropic, transverse isotropic, and orthotropic media are presented. The effect of the loading system on the stability of deformation, damage accumulation, and failure under monotone and nonmonotone triaxial loading was studied. The growth of failure strains with increase in stiffness of the loading system and unequal resistance of heterogeneous body are registered and investigated. A preventive unloading method is offered for the mathematical modeling of the damage accumulation during the testing of the materials on the servo-controlled systems. The displacement-controlled mode is simulated by a series of soft loading and unloading cycles. The detected phenomenon of failure where the unloading leads to stress-strain diagrams with a negative slope of the descending branch was not found either in the displacement or stress-controlled monotone loading mode.Submitted to the 10th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials, April 20–23, 1998, Riga, Latvia.Perm' State Technical University, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 234–250, March–April, 1998.     

Effect of elevated temperatures on the strength of cured resins and resin-based materials

An analysis of the relationship between the relative changes of compressive strength and weight loss for glass laminates has shown that at elevated temperatures (to 600° C) the changes in strength are primarily caused by processes of mechanical destruction of the resin phase. The process of thermo-oxidative degradation of the resin in the laminate is described by the same stages as were detected in studying cured resins.Moscow Aviation-Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 832–838, September–October, 1968.     

Effect of deformation rate on the vector properties of polyethylene

On the basis of experiments with strain trajectories in the form of two-segment broken lines it is shown that the vector properties of low-density polyethylene do not depend on the strain rate.M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 739–741, July–August, 1973.     

Effect of elevated temperatures on the strength of cured resins and resin-based materials

An investigation of the thermal stability of polycondensation cured resins has confirmed the previously established linear relationship between loss of strength and loss of weight. In the process of thermal degradation three qualitatively different stages are observed. The first is characterized by a fall in strength at low weight loss, pointing to a highly stressed structural network. The second stage, characterized by smooth variation of strength and weight, corresponds to thermo-oxidative degradation, which in the case of organophosphorous and melamine-formaldehyde resins ends in the formation of stable structures (third stage) with a residual strength of 8–10%. It is proposed to estimate the thermal stability of resins from three-dimensional diagrams in strength-temperature-time coordinates. Plane diagrams can be used for the rapid comparative evaluation of different resins.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 746–754, 1966     

Effect of elevated temperatures on the strength of cured resins and resin-based materials

Measurement of the loss of weight and ultimate compressive strength of phenol-formaldehyde resins under the influence of elevated temperatures has shown that during thermal degradation there is an abrupt transition from a first to a second and third structural stage with steadily increasing stabilization of the strength properties. Apart from the dependence on the heat treatment conditions, all the resins investigated were found to give a straight-line relation between the relative change in ultimate compressive strength and the relative change in weight for each structural stage. The investigation was conducted on standard specimens obtained by molding a mixture of hardening resin and the same resin in precured powdered form.     

Effect of residual stresses on the strength of oriented glass-reinforced plastics

The effect of structural residual stresses on the strength of a glass-reinforced plastic loaded along and across the fibers is investigated. It is established that the residual stresses lead to an increase in the strength of the glass-reinforced plastic across the fibers and to cracking of the polymer matrix in tension along the fibers, but have practically no effect on the combined deformation of the matrix and the fibers in compression.Moscow Ordzhonikidze Aviation Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 475–480, May–June, 1969.