Molecular orientation and the tensile strength of polystyrene

The tensile strengths of uniaxially oriented polystyrene films with molecular orientation determined by IR spectroscopy are compared. Two different orientation methods involving different time and temperature regimes are employed. It is found that the tensile strength is a unique function of the degree of orientation of the molecular segments of the polystyrene carbon chain irrespective of the means used to orient the specimens and increases linearly with increase in the degree of molecular orientation of the polymer. The experimental dependence is in satisfactory agreement with the results of a theoretical analysis.A. F. Ioffe Physico Technical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 612–615, July–August, 1969.     

Effect of hot-drawing conditions on the orientation characteristics of carbon-chain fibers determined by the acoustic method

The orientation characteristics of polypropylene, polyacrylonitrile, and chlorinated PVC fibers, determined by the acoustic method, have been investigated in relation to the fiber drawing conditions (draw ratio, speed, and temperature). It is shown that there is a correlation between the mechanical characteristics and the degree of acoustic anisotropy.Tashkent Institute of the Textile and Light Industries. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 552–554, May–June, 1971.     

Mechanism by which tension on the fibrous filler affects the structure and the strength of wound glass-plastics

Conclusions 1. We have studied how the structure of glass-plastics wound with twisted threads is affected by tension on the fibrous filler. The trend of changes in fiber content and porosity, as well as an increasingly nonuniform distribution of the reinforcing filler over the thickness, has been established.2. The effect of a nonuniform filler distribution over the thickness on the tensile strength has been evaluated. The calculated and the experimental curve of strength as a function of the tension have been compared, the former taking into account variable porosity, fiber content, and nonuniformity of fiber distribution over the thickness.3. It has been demonstrated that the change in the strength characteristics of a wound glass-plastic as a function of the tension on the reinforcing filler during winding is due to a combined complex effect of such factors as the overall fiber content and porosity, a nonuniform fiber distribution over the thickness, the fiber orientation, and the degree of mechanical damage in threads due to their interaction with the active components of the winding machine.Report presented at the Third All-Union Conference on Polymer Mechanics. Riga, November 10–12, 1976.Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 439–444, May–June, 1977.     

Progressive necking and orientation effects in the deformation of kapron

The stretching of kapron has been investigated by x-ray structural analysis using an estimate of the degree of orientation based on development of the Debye ring. It is established that with the progressive development of a first, second and third neck there is a decrease in the width of the texture maxima (increase in the degree of preferred orientation). The width of the texture maxima varies with the relative reduction of the cross section approximately in accordance with a linear law.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 7–11, 1965     

Acoustic determination of molecular orientation in polymers

On the basis of the results of measurements of the ultrasonic propagation velocity in polyethylene terephthalate fibers it is shown that the Moseley formula is suitable for determining the molecular orientation of both amorphous and amorphouscrystalline polymers. The dependence of the molecular orientation factor of amorphous and crystalline specimens of polyethylene terephthalate on the draw temperature and draw ratio is investigated. The effect of polymer orientation on the ultrasonic shear-wave velocity in the fiber is studied.Kiev Branch, All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Artificial Fibers. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 26–34, January–February, 1976.     

Biaxial orientation of amorphous linear polymers

The dependence of the birefringence and orientation stress on the biaxial stretch ratio and orientation conditions has been experimentally investigated. The temperature dependence of these characteristics is explained in terms of the network structure of amorphous polymers. It is shown that the transformations of the supermolecular structures in the process of biaxial orientation depend on the orientation temperature — at higher temperatures better organized structures are formed. There is a formal relationship between the effect of orientation temperature on supermolecular structure formation and on the relaxation process responsible for the formation of a more thermally stable molecular network.Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 17–23, January–February, 1971.     

Effect of structural changes on the sorptivity and mechanical properties of polyformaldehyde fibers

The dependence of the mechanical and sorption properties and structure of polyformaldehyde fibers on the degree of extension has been investigated. By x-ray structural analysis and sorption techniques it is shown that an increase in stretch ratio is accompanied by an increase in structural orientation with a simultaneous increase in porosity. It is established that the change in the mechanical properties associated with drawing depends both on orientation and on the presence of macrodefects in the fiber.Kiev Technological Institute of Light Industry. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1103–1106, November–December, 1971.     

Effect of orientation and molecular weight on the modulus of elasticity of polymer materials

The modulus of elasticity of a perfectly crystalline polymer is calculated as a function of the orientation of the crystallites. The calculations are based on the mechanics of a micro-inhomogeneous continuum. The dependence of the modulus of elasticity on crystallite orientation and molecular weight is calculated with reference to the example of crystalline kapron.Moscow-Lenin Pedagogical Institute. Problem Laboratory of Polymer Physics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 6, pp. 1002–1007, November–December, 1968.     

On the theory of biaxial orientation of amorphous polymers

The macromolecule orientation distribution function for biaxial orientation is calculated on the basis of a network model of a linear amorphous polymer. The dependence of the distribution function on the biaxial stretch ratio, orientation temperature, and certain other factors is investigated. A relation is established between the distribution function and the experimentally observed birefringence. The birefringence of biaxially oriented polymethyl methacrylate is measured in relation to the degree of deformation. The experimental data are compared with theory.Moscow Lenin State Pedagogical Institute, Problem Laboratory of Polymer Physics. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 771–779, September–October, 1970.     

Study of the secondary structures of filled rubbers

It is shown that the secondary structure of rubbers filled with carbon blacks can be expressed in terms of the volume of the relaxation kinetic element (V), calculated from the stress relaxation curves. The effect of the type and concentration of carbon black and the extension of the specimen on the quantity V has been investigated. The volume of the kinetic element decreases with increase in the concentration and dispersity of the carbon black. This is associated with an increase in the rubber-filler contact area, which causes the orientation of groups of molecular chains and reduces the size of the deformation unit. As the degree of extension of the specimen increases, V decreases.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 6, pp. 1066–1069, 1967     

Biaxial orientation of amorphous linear polymers

The mechanical properties of biaxially oriented polymethyl methacrylate, obtained on a broad range of stretch ratios and under a variety of orientation conditions, have been investigated. There is a fundamental difference between the variation of the forced elastic limit with increase in stretch ratio, which is monotone increasing, and the variation of such properties as the brittle strength, brittle temperature, true strength and elongation at break, which have an optimum at a certain stretch ratio. It is shown that the presence of an optimum is associated with the transformation of the supermolecular structures in the process of biaxial high-elastic deformation. A relation is established between the mechanical properties of biaxially oriented polymethyl methacrylate (orientation hardening) and the density of the molecular network.For communication 1 see [3].Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 586–593, July–August, 1971.     

Anisotropy of torsional rigidity of sheet polymer composite materials

Wide application of polymer composite materials (PCM) in modern technology calls for detailed evaluation of their stress-strain properties in a broad temperature range. To obtain such information, we use the dynamic mechanical analysis and with the help of a reverse torsion pendulum measure the dynamic torsional rigidity of PCM bars of rectangular cross section in the temperature range up to 600 K. It is found that the temperature dependences of the dynamic rigidity of the calculated values of dynamic shear moduli are governed by the percentage and properties of the binder and fibers, the layout of fibers, the phase interaction along interfaces, etc. The principles of dynamic mechanical spectrometry are used to substantiate and analyze the parameters of anisotropy by which the behavior of a composite can be described in the temperature range including the transition of the binder from the glassy into a highly elastic state. For this purpose, the values of dynamic rigidity are measured under low-amplitude vibrations of the PCM specimens with a fiber orientation angle from 0 to 90°. It is shown that for unidirectional composites the dependence between the dynamic rigidity and the fiber orientation angle is of extreme character. The value and position of the peak depend on the type of the binder and fibers and change with temperature. It is found that the anisotropy degree of PCM is dictated by the molecular mobility and significantly changes in the temperature range of transition of the binder and reinforcement from the glassy into a highly elastic state (in the case of SVM fibers). The possibility of evaluating the anisotropy of composites with other reinforcement schemes, in particular, of orthogonally reinforced PCMs, is shown.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 35, No. 3, pp. 291–308, May–June, 1999.     

Effect of thermal treatment temperature on the structure and properties of carbon fibers

Conclusions 1. It has been shown that the presence of a maximum in the dependence of strength on Young's modulus for carbon fibers made from PAN fiber may be explained by an effect of the process of temperature stress accumulation which takes place under the conditions of isometric heating. The start of this process, which causes a rearrangement of the internal structure of the high-modulus fiber, coincides with the start of the anomalous rise in fiber density.2. The interconnection between surface and internal defects and the elastic-strength properties of carbon fibers made in the temperature treatment range 600–3000°C has been studied.3. Original data on the elastic-strength properties of borided carbon fibers have been obtained; the structure of these is marked by a high degree of perfection. It has been shown that in boriding, which facilitates graphitization of the carbon, the process of regular reduction in fiber strength which is reached in the precrystallization stage is somewhat retarded.All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Aviation Materials, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1036–1042, November–December, 1976.     

Effect of parameters of the distribution of the length and orientation of short fibers on characteristics of the dynamic viscoelasticity of a polymer composite

Conclusion An algorithm for calculating the dynamic viscoelastic characteristics of a composite reinforced with short fibers was developed and realized in the form of a computer program. An analysis was made of the dependence of the characteristics of the composite on the volume content and length of its fibers, as well as on statistical distributions of fiber length and orientation in the material. It was shown that a change in the parameters of the statistical distributions has a significant effect on both the elastic and the dissi-pative properties of the composite. It was found that ignoring the statistical fiber-length distribution might lead to overestimation of the real component of the complex modulus and underestimation of the mechanical loss tangent.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 1, pp. 13–17, January–February, 1990.     

Coupling of a structural analysis and flow simulation for short-fiber-reinforced polymers: property prediction and transfer of results

The aim of this paper is to discuss the basic theories of interfaces able to transfer the results of an injection molding analyis of fiber-reinforced polymers, performed by using the commercial computer code Moldflow, to the structural analysis program ABAQUS. The elastic constants of the materials, such as Young’s modulus, shear modulus, and Poisson’s ratio, which depend on both the fiber content and the degree of fiber orientation, were calculated not by the usual method of “orientation averaging,” but with the help of linear functions fitted to experimental data. The calculation and transfer of all needed data, such as material properties, geometry, directions of anisotropy, and so on, is performed by an interface developed. The interface is suit able for midplane elements in Moldflow. It calculates and transfers to ABAQUS all data necessary for the use of shell elements. In addition, a method is described how a nonlinear orthotropic behavior can be modeled starting from the generalized Hooke’s law. It is also shown how such a model can be implemented in ABAQUS by means of a material subroutine. The results obtained according to this subroutine are compared with those based on an orthotropic, linear, elastic simulation. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 367-378, May-June, 2009.     

Strength properties of oriented amorphous linear polymers in relation to their structure

Tensile tests have been conducted at room temperature on uniaxially oriented films of a number of amorphous linear polymers. It has been shown that the mechanical properties of the oriented polymers in the glassy state are chiefly determined by two parameters of the structure—the degree of orientation of the macromolecule segments and the concentration of stressed chains per unit volume, irrespective of the molecular weight of the polymer and the orientational stretching conditions.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 455–460, 1967     

Investigation of the working region of kapron fibers

Kapron fibers with various stretch ratios have been subjected to tensile stress relaxation tests at constant clamped length. The relaxation constants — activation energy U₀ and the coefficient — are calculated from the results of the experiments. It is shown that the fiber parameters U₀ and depend on the given molecular orientation.All-Union Scientific-Research Institute of Synthetic Fibers, Kiev Branch. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 736–739, July–August, 1968.     

张量封闭模型与三维取向分布对纤维悬浮槽流稳定性的影响

应用3种不同的纤维方向张量封闭模型,数值模拟了纤维悬浮槽流的流动稳定性问题,从而研究封闭模型和纤维的三维取向分布对稳定性分析的影响．结果发现,采用3种不同封闭模型所得到的流动稳定特性与纤维参数之间的关系是相同的,但采用三维混合封闭模型时,由于纤维的取向与流向的偏差程度较大,所以纤维对流动的不稳定性具有最强的抑制作用．而采用二维混合封闭模型时,由于纤维在平面取向条件下,其轴线整体上趋于呈流向排列,使得对流体的作用削弱,导致纤维对流动不稳定性抑制的作用最弱．     

Comparative analysis of the structural order and defectiveness of reinforcing fibers on the basis of normalized values of mechanical properties

Experimental data on mechanical properties referred to their limiting values for a flawless polymer crystal with long molecular chains is used in a comparative analysis of the degree of ordering of the structure (crystallinity, orientation) and the defectiveness of the reinforcing fibers. The actual elastic moduli and limiting (theoretical) elastic modulus are used to obtain coefficients that characterize the overall order of the structure of the fibers but are independent of their defectiveness. Values of true strength in tension and the limitingly attainable or theoretical strength are used to calculate conditional coefficients that depend both on the overall order and the defectiveness of the fiber structure. The difference in the coefficients makes it possible to detect dangerous local defects that lead to fiber failure. Results are presented from calculations for more than 20 types of reinforcing fibers. Despite the approximate nature of these representations, the data that is obtained permits comparisons of different types of fibers, characterization of their quality, and evaluation of the degree of perfection of the fiber production technology.Paper presented at the IX International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials, Riga, October, 1995.St. Petersburg State University for Technology and design, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 444–453, July–August, 1996.     

On the theory of orientation of linear amorphous polymers

The previously derived orientation equations are solved for uniaxial extension at constant true stress, unloading, stress relaxation, and biaxial orientation at constant strain rate. The dependence of the birefringence of biaxially oriented PMMA on the magnitude and conditions of preliminary orientation has been experimentally investigated. There is good qualitative agreement between the theoretical and experimental results.For communication 1 see [1].Lenin Moscow State Pedagogic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 14–21, January–February, 1973.