Role of the supermolecular structure of PMM in the morphology of fracture and features introduced by the type of loading

The spherulitic supermolecular structure of PMM, expressed in the fracture surface, determines the fracture pattern and kinetics. The effect of the type of loading on the morphology of the fracture surface is described. Banding of the fracture surface is attributed to periodic energy pulses leading to quasi-brittle fracture at the moving crack front and selective local crack development at the band edges.Riga Lenin Komsomol Institute of Civil Aviation Engineers. Translated from Mekhanika Polimerov, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 776–782, September–October, 1968.