Experimental investigation on fracture of viscoelastic materials under biaxial-stress fields

Fracture behavior of viscoelastic materials under various biaxial-stress fields was studied experimentally in a specially developed apparatus. The biaxial stresses were applied at various time rates of stress to study the effects of rate of loading on fracture behavior. Examination of experimental data indicated that a simple relationship could be established between octahedral shear stress and octahedral shear strain at fracture corresponding to various biaxial stresses. Finally, a criterion of failure based on the total strain energy at fracture was suggested. The strain energy at fracture predicted from the linear viscoelastic theory agrees reasonably well with that determined experimentally.