Tensile strength of unidirectionally reinforced plates stretched at an angle to the direction of reinforcement

Conditions for the fracture of a unidirectionally reinforced plate under uniaxial tension at an arbitrary angle to the direction of reinforcement are proposed. The fracture conditions are applicable to the case where the adhesion strength between the bond and reinforcement is greater than the strength of the polymer bond. The strength of the polymer bond in the volume stressed state is determined by an energy criterion.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 482–486 May–June, 1973.     

Effect of ultraviolet radiation on the creep rate of polymers

The effect of UV radiation on the creep rate of nine different polymers has been determined under load. A reversible increase in creep rate has been detected. This effect is attributable to radiation damage consisting in the breakage of bonds in the stressed polymer. The results obtained point to a close relationship between the processes of polymer fracture and deformation.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 404–408, 1967     

Optimization of neural network for ionic conductivity of nanocomposite solid polymer electrolyte system (PEO-LiPF6-EC-CNT)

In this study, the ionic conductivity of a nanocomposite polymer electrolyte system (PEO-LiPF₆-EC-CNT), which has been produced using solution cast technique, is obtained using artificial neural networks approach. Several results have been recorded from experiments in preparation for the training and testing of the network. In the experiments, polyethylene oxide (PEO), lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆), ethylene carbonate (EC) and carbon nanotubes (CNT) are mixed at various ratios to obtain the highest ionic conductivity. The effects of chemical composition and temperature on the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte system are investigated. Electrical tests reveal that the ionic conductivity of the polymer electrolyte system varies with different chemical compositions and temperatures. In neural networks training, different chemical compositions and temperatures are used as inputs and the ionic conductivities of the resultant polymer electrolytes are used as outputs. The experimental data is used to check the system’s accuracy following the training process. The neural network is found to be successful for the prediction of ionic conductivity of nanocomposite polymer electrolyte system.     

Micromechanics of polymer fracture

Small-angle x-ray scattering has been used to investigate the formation of embryonic submicroscopic cracks in polymers under a load. The main characteristics of crack formation in various loading regimes are analyzed. It is shown that there is a relation between the submicrocrack concentration and the deformation of the loaded polymer. The principal parameters of crack formation determining the strength properties of the polymer are found to be the transverse dimension of the initial submicrocracks relative to the loading axis, which is determined by the structural heterogeneity of the material, and the submicrocrack concentration in the prefracture state. The principles of the micromechanics of polymer fracture are formulated on the basis of the results of an analysis of the quantitative relationship between these parameters. The dominant role of the surface in the fracture process is demonstrated by comparing the parameters of crack formation in the interior and at the surface of the loaded polymer.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 792–801, September–October, 1974.     

On the growth of a polymer layer around a catalytic particle: a free boundary problem

The problem studied is a substantial part of a larger mathematical model describing the heterogeneous Ziegler-Natta polymerization process of a gaseous monomer. Here we concentrate on the growth of a polymer layer around a spherical catalytic particle (the whole process taking place in an agglomerate of such particles). The velocity field of the growing layer is determined the absorption rate of the monomer at the catalyst surface. The monomer diffuses through the expanding layer. Its concentration at the outer surface (the free boundary) is supposed to be a known function of time. Global in time existence and uniqueness of a regular solution are proved. Received May 12, 1996     

Effect of temperature on the fracture surfaces of filled systems based on SKS-85 butadiene-styrene copolymer

The tear fracture surfaces of mixtures of SKS-85 butadiene — styrene copolymer (85% styrene) with ordinary (carbon black, chalk) and polymeric (Kapron and cellophane powder) fillers have been investigated on the interval from –60 to +40°C. As the temperature varies within the limits of the glassy state (T_g SKS-85=+24°C) of the filled polymer, the nature of the fracture surface of specimens of filled mixtures, like that of the unfilled polymer, changes; in the region of the temperature transition of the copolymer associated with the mobility of the phenyl groups (–10±5°C) there is a slowing of the fracture process. At temperatures below the T_g of the copolymer the tear fracture surfaces of specimens of mixtures containing ordinary and polymeric fillers differ sharply. The introduction of fillers (20 vol. %) with a coefficient of thermal expansion different from that of the filled polymer considerably reduces the resistance of the material to fracture and leads to a sharp increase in the rate of crack propagation; the introduction of polymeric fillers with coefficients of thermal expansion similar to that of the filled polymer leads to an increase in the resistance of the material to fracture and to a decrease in the rate of crack propagation.Moscow Technological Institute of the Meat and Dairy Industry; State Institute of Polymer Adhesives, Kirovakan. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 819–826, September–October, 1969.     

Interlaminar fracture and low-velocity impact of carbon/epoxy composite materials

The interlaminar fracture and the low-velocity impact behavior of carbon/epoxy composite materials have been studied using width-tapered double cantilever beam (WTDCB), end-notched flexure (ENF), and Boeing impact specimens. The objectives of this research are to determine the essential parameters governing interlaminar fracture and damage of realistic laminated composites and to characterize a correlation between the critical strain energy release rates measured by interlaminar fracture and by low-velocity impact tests. The geometry and the lay-up sequence of specimens are designed to probe various conditions such as the skewness parameter, beam volume, and test fixture. The effect of interfacial ply orientations and crack propagation directions on interlaminar fracture toughness and the effect of ply orientations and thickness on impact behavior are examined. The critical strain energy release rate was calculated from the respective tests: in the interlaminar fracture test, the compliance method and linear beam theory are used; the residual energy calculated from the impact test and the total delamination area estimated by ultrasonic inspection are used in the low-velocity impact test. Results show that the critical strain energy release rate is affected mainly by ply orientations. The critical strain energy release rate measured by the low-velocity impact test lies between the mode I and mode II critical strain energy release rates obtained by the interlaminar fracture test. Submitted to the 11th International Conference on Mechanics of Composite Materials (Riga, June 11–15, 2000). Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 195–214, March–April, 2000.     

Fracture under cubic compression of polymethylmethacrylate subject to laser radiation

It has been established that samples of PMMA under cubic compression retain their fracture characteristics when subjected to laser radiation. Only the length of the fracture region is altered. The dimensions of the microdefects and the pressure within them causing the growth of discoidal fracture cracks have been determined.Institute of Problems in Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 449–452, May–June, 1970.     

Strength and deformation characteristics of polymer blend films obtained from water systems

The relationship between the tensile strength and deformation characteristics, composition, and structural organization of films obtained by casting of two-component water-based system blends — a solution of the rigid partly crystalline polymer polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and an emulsion of the compliant amorphous polymer polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) — has been investigated. The aim of this investigation was to ascertain the possibility of obtaining film materials with increased deformability based on the biodegradable PVA. The composition dependences of the initial modulus of elasticity, the maximum stress, yield stress, the ultimate strength, the ultimate strain, and of the unit work of fracture and other characteristics of films have been analyzed. An analysis of the tensile true stress–strain curves of systems with volume fractions of PVA less than 0.5 points to their considerable orientation strengthening upon tension.     

Mechanical properties of polymers at 4.2°K and their dependence on chemical structure and the conditions of physical structure formation

Values of the modulus of elasticity, proportionality limit, and fracture strains and stresses have been measured at 4.2°K for polymers with different chemical structure and for a series of physically modified polymers. Relations have been established between the cryogenic values of the mechanical properties, the chemical structure of the macromolecules, and the conditions of formation of the physical structure of the polymer.     

Nonlinear dynamics of a symmetric Davydov–Fröhlich dimer

An analysis of a dimer, modeling two interacting equal monomer units in which complex monomer excitations can arise, is performed. The analyzed classical dynamical system corresponds to the basic unit of a novel microscopic model offered by a unified theory of the well-known Davydov and Fröhlich models of energy transport in proteins. The transition between regular and chaotic dynamics, which depends on the energy pumping and the monomer–monomer interaction parameters, is analyzed. There is a region of values of the relevant parameters when the system is either in an ordered and stable state or goes through a succession of disordered and unstable states. This could have important biological applications.     

Conditions of the ductile-brittle transition in failure of polymer materials

Conclusions The polymer materials are characterized by the transition from ductile to brittle fracture with increasing loading rate and decreasing temperature. The brittle fracture susceptibility of the material can be determined on the basis of the critical size of the defect/ crack. The measure of the cracking resistance of plastics can often be represented by the material scale of the crack length. The quality of the critical size of the defect/crack to the material scale of the crack length can be used as a criterion determining the conditions of transition from ductile to brittle fracture.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 5, pp. 779–785, September–October, 1988.     

Vinyl polymerization

Polymerization of Acrylamide initiated by cobaltic ions in aqueous solution at 15° C. and 20° C. in HClO₄ and H₂SO₄ media have been studied. Kinetics have been followed by determining the rate of cobaltic ion disappearance as well as monomer disappearance with variations in cobaltic, monomer and hydrogen ion concentrations, temperature, ionic strength, etc. Besides polymer reaction it has been observed that side reactions like water oxidation and monomer oxidation also contribute to rate of cobaltic ion disappearance. Certain anomalous results in H₂SO₄ medium have been observed. A reaction scheme involving CoOH²⁺ and Co³⁺ as initiators in HClO₄ and H₂SO₄ media respectively and mixed termination—mutual and linear—has been suggested. Certain rate parameters involving rate constants for initiation, propagation, termination and the corresponding activation energies have been evaluated.     

Numerical simulations of spalling tests in order to investigate material properties of UHPC

In order to evaluate the material composition of Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC), material properties such as dynamic tensile strength or fracture strength and also the fracture energy under impact loading are of significant importance. The use of a modified Hopkinson Bar enables the determination of the required data. On the basis of experimental investigations our contribution deals with the numerical finite element simulation of the Hopkinson Bar test. The propagation of stress waves is reproduced by means of a special time-integration scheme. We simulate the propagation of cracks by using adaptive cohesive elements including a corresponding separation law. The critical energy release rate (Griffith-energy) is calculated and compared to the values determined by experimental results. (© 2014 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Thermoactivation theory of wear in plastics

It has been shown that wear, being a thermofluctuation process, can be described by an equation analogous to Zhurkov's law of simple fracture. In fatigue wear the maximum value of the activation energy u₀ is close to the u for the rupture of chemical bonds. Abrasive wear is an almost barrierless process, therefore in the case of mixed wear the presence of an abrasive component sharply reduced u₀. The thermoactivation equation describes the effect of temperature on wear only within the limits of one physical state of the polymer. In transition zones it is necessary to take into account the role of the sharp change in elongation at break, which introduces extrema into the temperature wear curve.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 6, pp. 867–874, 1966     

Fracture in Ceramic-Matrix Composites Reinforced with Strongly Bonded Metal Particles

The resistance of a ceramic matrix composite to the cleavage cracking across a field of strongly bonded, uniformly distributed metal particles is studied. The crack trapping and bridging effects of the metal particles are analyzed by means of calculating the strain energy and the traction work. An explicit expression for the critical energy release rate as a function of particle volume fraction has been obtained. The fracture resistance is independent of elastic properties of the matrix and the sample geometry and is predominantly determined by the size/spacing ratio of the particles. It is shown that the theoretical curves agree with experimental data quite well. The methodology developed in this article can be used in studying the fracture resistances of composites with high filler contents and irregular filler geometries.__________Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 303–318, May–June, 2005.     

Embryonic submicroscopic cracks in loaded polymers

The experimental work on embryonic fracture cracks in polymers recently carried out in the A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, is reviewed. The cracks have been studied by diffraction methods, chiefly by small-angle x-ray scattering. A principal result of this research is the possibility of formulating the general principle of a micromechanics of polymer fracture. The theory is based on data on the behavior of submicrocracks in polymers (size, concentration), the structural conditions and molecular mechanism of crack formation, the enlargement of submicrocracks, their influence on microcrack formation, and the growth of the macrocracks.     

Current state and prospects for development of the physical theory of brittle strength of polymers

Various mechanisms of brittle fracture and theories of the time dependence of the strength of rigid polymers are examined. The effect of various types of mechanical losses (deformation, dynamical, surface) on polymer strength and life is analyzed. The principal shortcomings of Griffith's theory of strength are pointed out. From an examination of the two basic mechanisms of brittle fracture of polymers-nonthermal and thermal (thermal fluctuation)-it is concluded that the latter is the more important. A comparison is made of the fluctuation theory of polymer strength with new experimental data on polymethyl methacrylate, and the causes of the transition from brittle to nonbrittle fracture are discussed. The effect of molecular orientation on the strength of polymers is examined on the basis of the fluctuation theory of strength.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 700–721, 1966     

A criterion for the growth of cracks with bonds in the end zone

A fracture criterion which takes account of the work done in the deformation of bonds in the end zone of a crack is proposed for analysing the quasistatic growth of a crack with bonds in the end zone. The energy condition that the deformation energy release rate at the crack tip is equal to the rate of deformation energy consumption by the bonds in the end zone of the crack (the first fracture condition) corresponds to the state of limit equilibrium of the crack tip. The rupture of bonds at the trailing edge of the end zone is determined by the condition for their limiting traction (the second fracture condition). Starting from these two conditions, the processes of subcritical and quasistatic crack growth are considered for the case of a rectilinear crack at interface of materials and the two basic fracture parameters, the critical external load and the size of the end zone of the crack in the state of limit equilibrium, are determined. Analytical expressions are obtained for the deformation energy release rate at the crack tip and the rate of deformation energy consumption by the bonds and, also, the dependences of the critical external load and size of the end zone of the crack on the crack length in the case of a rectilinear crack in a homogeneous body with bond tractions which are constant and independent of the external load. The limit cases of a crack which is filled with bonds and a crack with a short end zone are considered.     

Effect of fiber tension on the unwinding resistance of hardening layers of glass-reinforced plastic

The shear fracture toughness characteristics of glass-reinforced plastics used for strengthening metal pressure vessels have been determined by testing metal-GRP rings. The shear fracture toughness characteristics are statistically estimated for a unidirectional GRP as a function of the winding tension.K. É. Tsiolkovskii Moscow Aviation Engineering Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 935–938, September–October, 1975.