Comparison of the temperature-time dependences of polymer strength under static and cyclic loading

A comparison of the temperature-time dependences of the strength of highly oriented fibers under static and cyclic loading shows that in the region of high temperatures and low loading frequencies the static and cyclic specimen lives always coincide. The discrepancy between the static and cyclic lives observed in the region of low temperatures and higher loading frequencies is related with differences in the structural changes in the different loading regimes. These changes are relaxational in nature.The experimental data were reported at the 14th and 16th All-Union Conferences on High-Molecular Compounds (1964 and 1966).A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 648–655, July–August, 1968.     

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     

An estimation of reliability of unidirectional composites by catastrophe theory

In the present work, interest is centered on the theory of fracture and practical approaches to reliability estimation of unidirectional composite materials which are based on it. Fracture mechanics is considered not as a theory of macrocracks but as mechanics of fracture mechanisms of the composites with allowance made for probability estimation. A model of composite material with fibers eliminated from the carrying scheme and parameters specific to the stress-strain-damage state (SSDS) was considered. According to the model, during loading, self-accelerated energy rise is accounted for by structural damages growth — the catastrophe takes place. The model allows us to calculate the critical stress. The composites redistribute forces from overloading zones to neighboring ones by microstructural deformations and damages. It is the effect of reservation of carrying ability. Due to this effect, low-value probability of fracture is sufficiently less for the composite than for homogeneous materials. The approach allows us to evaluate the reliability function for both static loading and fatigue.Presented at the Ninth International Conference on the Mechanics of Composite Materials, Riga, October, 1995.Computing Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoyarsk, Russia. Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 32, No. 4, pp. 539–548, July–August, 1996.     

Kinetic theory of strength as a scientific basis for predicting the lifetime of polymers under load

The possibility of using advances in the kinetic theory of strength for predicting the performance of polymers is analyzed. It is shown that the theory provides a scientific basis for predicting the life of polymers under load not only in uniaxial tension at constant stress, when the basic lifetime equation with constant coefficients ₀, U₀, and holds, but also in the presence of various complications — in the region of small stresses and high temperatures, in the presence of structural changes during service, in complex loading regimes (including cyclic loading) and complex states of stress, and, moreover, when the stressed polymer is exposed to radiations or aggressive media.Presented at the All-Union Symposium on Predicting Service Properties of Polymeric Materials, Tbilisi, 1970.Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov No. 1, pp. 98–112, January–February, 1971.     

Comparison of the long-term strengths of polymers under uniaxial alternating and pulsating loads

The laws of fracture of PMMA and PS under uniaxial alternating and pulsating cyclic loading have been investigated at several loading frequencies and two test temperatures. An analysis of the dependence of the long-term strength on stress, heating kinetics and the form of the specimen fracture surface has shown that transition from cyclic tension to more complex alternating loading in the tension-compression regime does not change the basic nature of the cyclic fatigue effect and is reflected only in an increase in the local stress concentration and heating.A. F. Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 3, pp. 483–488, May–June, 1972.     

Fracture of a glass-reinforced plastic in cyclic tension-compression

Uniaxial tension-compression tests have revealed the existence of a correlation between the static and cyclic deformation characteristics of a glass-reinforced plastic. The possibility of calculating the cyclic lifetime from the static test data using Bailey's rule and Zhurkov's equation for the time dependence of the strength has been investigated. A method of allowing for the particular characteristics of the fatigue fracture of a reinforced material, based on the correlation between the static and cyclic deformation, is proposed and is found to lead to a considerable improvement in the convergence of the theoretical and actual cyclic lifetimes.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 4, pp. 654–662, July–August, 1971.     

Long-term strength of reinforced composites

Conclusion A criterion of long-term strength was proposed for composite materials. The criterion can be used to calculate time to failure for arbitrary loading programs. It was shown that the criterion provides for good agreement with the experimental data not only in the cases of instantaneous and long-term static loadings, but also for fatigue loading in tension, in compression, and in mixed regimes with different asymmetry coefficients.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, No. 1, pp. 16–22, January–February, 1989.     

Deformation and fracture of polymers

On the basis of experimental research it is suggested that in polymers under load two physically different kinetic processes — deformation and fracture — develop simultaneously. Their rates depend on different components of the stress tensor; accordingly, the relation between these rates can be experimentally controlled. It is suggested that these processes involve the overcoming of physically different potential barriers and that their elementary events embrace essentially different activation volumes. Deformation involves the overcoming of the forces of intermolecular interaction, and fracture, with the rupture of the main chains.Review of work carried out in the Materials Laboratory of the A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR.A. F. Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute, Leningrad. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 95–106, January–February, 1975.     

Predicting the transverse strength of unidirectional composites under combination loading

This article presents a mathematical model for predicting the transverse strength of unidirectional fiber composites subjected to combination transverse loading under different conditions. The behavior of the matrix is described by nonlinear physical equations consistent with the strain theory of plasticity for the active loading section. The fibers are assumed to be isotropic and elastic. The boundary-value problem of micromechanics that is formulated includes strength criteria for the matrix and fibers that mark the beginning of their possible failure. The modeling of the fracture process is taken farther through the use of a scheme that reduces the stiffness of the matrix and fibers in the failed regions in relation to the sign of the first invariant of the stress tensor. The method of local approximation is used together with the finite-element method to calculate the stress and strain fields in unidirectional composites with cylindrical fibers in a tetragonal layup. The model is used to study the behavior of an epoxy-based organic-fiber-reinforced plastic subjected to transverse loading in different simple paths — including simultaneous compressive and tensile loads, as well as transverse shear.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. 4, pp. 473–481, July–August, 1995.     

Some aspects of the behavior of shock-compressed polymers

The changes in the properties of certain polymeric materials subjected to the action of plane shocks of varying amplitude are discussed. Three loading techniques are employed — single, multiple, and high-frequency multiple loading — each accompanied by a different rise in the temperature of the polymeric material. The results show that the change in physicomechanical properties also varies with the loading technique.Volgograd Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 76–80, January–February, 1970.     

Delamination of composite plates under tensile load

Conclusions Among the two configurations discussed, the beam has a rather theoretical importance, as an extension and generalization of the cracked beam problem. Unlike this, embedded delaminations can be found often in real constructions. The fact that the maximum value of SERR vs. fibre orientation angle curve for the circular embedded delamination is surpassed by that for the split beam only by three times and by that for the split beam under mode II loading approximately six times means that an embedded delamination can lead to difficulties when the plate is tensed (or compressed — even in an underbuckled state — within the linear approach the non-opening modes of stress concentration will just change their signs when the load changes its sign), especially under a cyclic loading. Of course, the shell model used is fairly rough and does not take in account several features or real delaminations extension and does not allow one to evaluate properly the stress field near the crack front; thus, more analytical and experimental studies would be needed, to establish the crack development process. The 3D analysis is necessary when initiating delaminations are studied, for the beam/plate assumptions can no longer be regarded as necessary since the delamination linear dimensions are comparable to or less than the thickness of the sublaminate.Published in Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 45–50, January–February, 1995.     

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.     

Investigation of the relief of the fracture surfaces of epoxy compositions subjected to cyclic loading

Epoxy compositions containing various amounts of plasticizer have been fractured by cyclic loading under conditions of circular cantilever bending. The relief of the fracture surfaces is discussed.Design-Technological Scientific Research Institute, Tallinn. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 6, pp. 1014–1017, November–December, 1969.     

Role of heating in connection with the reduced life of cyclically stressed polymers

An investigation of the effect of heating connected with cyclic deformation on the life of three polymer materials has shown that the measured heating cannot account for the experimentally observed reduction in fatigue life as compared with static loading.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 483–488, 1968     

Optimal winding of filament-wound reinforced plastic shells designed to resist buckling under external pressure or axial compression

The optimal method of winding the reinforcement of thin cylindrical shells subjected to external pressure or axial loading is investigated. Various types of winding — normal, simple oblique, crossed, and isotropic — are considered. An approximate formula is obtained for the critical external pressure. This formula is used to analyze the possibility of raising the critical load by adopting oblique winding. In the case of axial compression different buckling modes are examined and the optimal winding determined.Central Scientific-Research Institute of Machine Building, Moscow. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 864–875, September–October, 1968.     

Self-heating and failure of plastics under cyclic loading

It has been shown that plastics heated by cyclic deformation have two characteristic temperatures—a critical temperature T_hc, at which the most heavily stressed part of the test piece is intensely heated, and a temperature T_h, at which the test piece fails. The values T_hc and T_h are determined not only by the physicomechanical properties of the material, but also by the state of stress and strain, by the scale factor, and by the heat transfer conditions. It has likewise been shown that the form of the fatigue fracture surface of plastics is determined by the type of deformation and the temperature T_h.Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 483–492, 1967     

Reasons for the lowering of the lifetime of polymers under cyclic loading

A model is proposed which explains the lowering of the lifetime of polymers on transition from static to cyclic loading by the interaction of local stresses from an external load with residual stresses which arose after preceding loading cycles. The results predicted on the basis of the model have been checked experimentally on polymethyl methacrylate, and a good agreement has been shown.M. I. Kalinin Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 2, pp. 279–283, March–April, 1976.     

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.     

Resistance of wound glass-reinforced plastics to failure by unwinding

The debonding of wound glass-reinforced plastics is examined from the statistical standpoint. The statistical stress intensity distribution function characterizing the fracture toughness is obtained. The effect of defect size on the critical nominal stresses is discussed.Moscow Aviation Technological Institute. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 5, pp. 881–885, September–October, 1969.     

Methods of taking into account the nonlinearity of the deformation properties of the material in calculating thick-walled composite rings

The results of an investigation of the deformation properties of unidirectional composites are presented, and engineering models which take into account the effect of the nonlinearity of the properties in the radial direction on the state of stress of rings under pressure are proposed. The relations obtained are checked theoretically — by means of a refined calculation based on the nonlinear theory of elasticity — and experimentally — by loading rings with internal and external pressure by means of rubber cuffs in specially designed apparatus.Institute of Polymer Mechanics, Academy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Riga. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, No. 1, pp. 73–84, January–February, 1976.