Mechanical and optical characterization of an anelastic polymer at large strain rates and large strains

Two constitutive relations have been determined from test results that characterize, respectively, the uniaxial and photomechanical behavior of a polyester-styrene copolymer for strain rates from 10^?5 to 3×10³ in./in./s and strains up to 40 percent. The high-strain-rate data were obtained by means of a split-Hopkinson-bar apparatus. Intermediate-strain-rate tests, performed with the aid of a drop tower, were reported in an earlier paper. Quasi-static experiments were conducted on a standard testing machine. A nonlinear, four-parameter, elastic-viscoplastic model was constructed which describes the mechanical behavior. The parameters were determined by a least-mean-squares curve-fitting procedure. The viscoplastic parameters were found to obey a power law in strain rate. The photomechanical model was found to be linear with strain well into the plastic-deformation region, while the slope of the strain-birefringence curve for each strain rate also varied by strain rate to a power.