Use of plastics as model materials in the photoelastic method of stress analysis

The suitability of various plastics for use as model materials in the photoelastic method of stress analysis is briefly reviewed. The photoelastic properties of a series of optically sensitive plastics are examined. It is shown that the wide range of properties possessed by these materials makes them suitable for the photoelastic solution of various problems.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 440–445, 1966     

Strength of glass-reinforced plastics in the complex stress state

A new criterion of strength is proposed for anisotropic materials of the glass-reinforced plastic type. This criterion takes into account not only the different ultimate strengths in tension and compression in each direction but also the dependence of the ultimate shear strengths on the sign (direction) of the shear stresses. The criterion is given in tensor invariant form, so that it can be rewritten for any direction of the glass fibers. The criteria proposed by other authors, in particular, R. Hill's condition of plasticity [1], follow from the new generalized criterion as special cases. The results of experiments conducted both by the authors of the present article and by other investigators provide good confirmation of the proposed criterion.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 70–78, 1965     

Experimental determination of residual stresses in wound unidirectional glass-reinforced plastics

The residual stresses in prestressed ring-shaped systems of wound unidirectional glass-reinforced tape have been investigated experimentally. The relation between the residual stress and the winding force has been established. A decrease in the specified prestress is demonstrated. The results of tensile tests on free rings of wound glass-reinforced tape are presented.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 123–129, 1966     

Crosslinked polychlorostyrene as an optically sensitive material for photoelastic stress analysis

The photoelastic properties of chlorostyrene-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate copolymers have been investigated. Thanks to the high segmental polarizability anisotropy of chlorostyrene and the possibility of regulating the crosslink density in the crosslinked polymer, these materials possess high optical sensitivity combined with a broad range of moduli of elasticity at the "freezing" temperature.Institute of High-Molecular Compounds, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 554–556, May–June, 1969.     

Finite element simulation of a layout optimisation technique by photoelastic stress minimisation

Layout optimisation to minimise maximum Tresca stress by photoelastic stress minimisation technique is simulated by finite element method: elements in the design domain that are lowly stressed are slowly removed resulting in a structure having minimum Tresca stress. The FEM simulation consists of analysing-monitoring the Tresca stress of elements in the design domain and “removing” material by declaring the element stiffness matrix of those possessing small stress values as of negligible stiffness in the subsequent step of the optimisation process. The lower bounds and upper bounds of stress limits for the “removal” criterion have to be appropriately chosen and effects of sharp notches introduced by removing finite elements should be properly taken into account for successful optimisation. The FEM simulation can be made fully automatic and can be extended to cases of complex geometry, loading material properties as well as to other objective functions of the optimisation problem.     

Numerical simulation of rheological processes in hardening plastics under stress control

The paper concerns the simulation of rheological processes in hardening plastics (resins) under stress control. It is assumed that the resins work in the glassy state, under normal conditions, and the rheological processes are quasi-static and isothermal. The reduced stress levels do not exceed 30% of the instantaneous tensile strength. A resin is modelled as a homogeneous, isotropic, linearly viscoelastic material. The HWKK/H rheological model, developed recently by the author, is used. Short-term, medium-term, and long-term shear strain components are considered and described by one fractional and two normal exponential functions as the stress history (memory) functions. A novel algorithm for the numerical simulation of rheological processes in resins has been developed, which is unified for all stress history functions in the HWKK/H model. The algorithm employs the Boltzmann superposition principle, a virtual table for the classic creep process, and a high-rank Gaussian quadrature. The stress function is approximated with a stair case function. The constitutive equations governing the HWKK/H model are trans formed into an algebraic form suitable for algorithmization. The problem of quasi-exact calculation of the double-improper integral resulting from the fractional exponential function is solved effectively. The algorithm has been tested successfully on selected loading programs of unidirectional tension of epoxide. Russian translation published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 201–212, March–April, 2007.     

Photoelastic investigation of stress concentrations in model glass-reinforced plastics under static load

The title investigation was carried out using a double-beam polarimeter for studying the stress patterns in "sandwich" models of glass-reinforced plastics. The same experimental technique can be adapted to a wide range of reinforced materials. A comparison of the experimental results with calculations based on the theory for quasi-homogeneous anisotropic plates shows that it is not always permissible to assume that the laminated material has a quasi-homogeneous structure.Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 711–718, July–August, 1969.     

Effect of stress ratio on the fatigue strength of organic plastics

Conclusions Experimental fatigue curves of a unidirectional organic plastic are obtained for a number of asymmetry factors and diagrams of the limiting cycle stresses are constructed for a load in the direction of the fibers and across the fibers, and for in-plane shear of a layer. The simplest methods of approximating the calculated diagrams are tested. It is shown that the method of layer-by-layer analysis of fatigue failure makes it possible to construct limiting-stress diagrams for a laminar oblique-ply composite with an accuracy acceptable for engineering calculations, proceeding from the same analysis as for an individual layer.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 3, pp. 421–429, May–June, 1991.     

Deformation and failure of angle-plied organic fiber-reinforced plastics in the 3D stress state

Tubular specimens of organic fiber-reinforced plastic (OFRP) are tested in tension under a high hydrostatic pressure of up to 300 MPa. The specimens are made by winding at an angle of ±60° to the generatrix. The experimental equipment and technique are described. The tests show the insignificant effect of hydrostatic pressure on the elastic properties and the failure mode of the OFRP. The hydrostatic pressure considerably affects the strength properties of the OFRP. The material strength increases almost twofold under a pressure of 300 MPa. The failure strains of the material increase significantly as well.N. E. Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School, Moscow, Russia. Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 33, No. 5, pp. 592–602, September–October, 1997.     

Effect of method of reinforcement and nominal stress level on the stress and strain concentration around holes in glass-reinforced plastics

The stress and strain distributions in specimens weakened by a stress raiser has been investigated by the moiré fringe method in tension.