Effects of prior aging at 288°C in argon environment on time‐dependent deformation behavior of a thermoset polymer at elevated temperature,part 1: Experiments

The inelastic deformation behavior of PMR‐15 neat resin, a high‐temperature thermoset polymer, aged at 288°C in argon environment for up to 2000 h was investigated. The experimental program was designed to explore the in?uence of prior isothermal aging on monotonic loading and unloading at various strain rates. In addition, the relaxation response and the creep behavior of specimens subjected to prior aging of various durations were evaluated. All tests were performed at 288°C. The time‐dependent mechanical behavior of the PMR‐15 polymer is strongly influenced by prior isothermal aging. The elastic modulus increased and the departure from quasi‐linear behavior was delayed with prior aging time. Stress levels in the region of inelastic flow increased with prior aging time. Furthermore, prior aging significantly decreased the polymer's capacity for inelastic straining, including the material's capacity to accumulate creep strain. Conversely, the relaxation response was not affected by the prior aging. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.? J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Pre‐necking and post‐necking relaxation and creep behavior of polycarbonate: A phenomenological study

Experiments have been performed to investigate the mechanical response of unfilled polycarbonate vis‐à‐vis the influence of prior deformation on stress relaxation and creep. Piecewise linear deformation histories, which involve strain‐controlled tensile loading of a specimen to a maximum load and partial unloading to a target strain/stress point as prologue to a relaxation test, have been shown to qualitatively influence the recorded stress‐time behavior. In particular, the stress magnitude during relaxation first increases and is then followed by a decrease. Analogously, in creep tests during unloading, the strain might decrease and then increase. Time characteristics for this U‐turn in the deformation response are influenced by the placement of the test. The influence of prior specimen conditioning on this phenomenon is investigated by comparing test data from virgin samples to that of specimens having high (～85%) inelastic strain from prior tensile elongation. Findings suggest that the observed persistence in the occurrence of this reversal effect for both types of specimens is evidence of the need to incorporate this behavior into the fold of material modeling. Additionally, this novel relaxation and creep behavior has been observed in other amorphous (poly(phenylene oxide)) and crystalline (high‐density polyethylene) polymers. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:1783–1791, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Effects of temperature,strain rate,and cyclic loading on mechanical behavior of silane-modified polyurethane sealant

To evaluate the mechanical properties of modified polyurethane sealants in engineering applications, the influences of temperature, strain rate, and cyclic loading on the mechanical properties of silane-modified polyurethane sealant were experimentally investigated. The monotonic tensile experiments with various strain rates and temperatures were conducted, and strain rate and temperature dependent nonlinear stress–strain curves were obtained. The results showed that the silane-modified polyurethane sealant exhibited temperature dependence at constant strain rate and rate dependence at room temperature. However, it is shown no obvious rate dependence at temperature of 150°C. In addition, the multi-step cyclic loading experiments with mean strain decrease and increase at each step were carried out to analyze the influence of cyclic loading and cyclic loading history at different temperatures. The results demonstrated that the viscous behavior of the materials was evidently observed in the first step and disappeared in other steps for the four-step cyclic loading with mean strain decrease case. Moreover, the cyclic stress relaxation of the materials was not obvious due to the prior cyclic loading with higher mean strain history, while the cyclic stress relaxation of the material continued to occur for the prior cyclic loading with lower mean strain history, and the cyclic strength of the materials decreased with the increase of temperature.     

Uniaxial time‐dependent ratcheting behavior of bronze powder filled polytetrafluoroethylene at room and high temperature

A series of tensile and ratcheting experiments for cold compaction polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and bronze filled PTFE (PTFE/bronze) were conducted with Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA‐Q800) at room and high temperature (473 K). The effects of peak stress‐holding time, creep, recovery, mean stress history, stress‐rate history, and pretension on the ratcheting behavior of PTFE/bronze were investigated. It is found that longer peak stress‐holding time leads to larger ratcheting strain accumulation. In the meantime, the ratcheting strain accumulates more rapidly at high temperature and the influence of temperature is more obvious than that of the additive fraction of bronze. Creep strain produced during the uploading and the stress‐holding time only partially recovers in the unloading process. Moreover, prior lower stress rate enhances the deformation resistance and restrains the ratcheting of subsequent cycling at higher stress rate. The ratcheting strain in the subsequent cyclic loading at lower mean stress is also restrained by previous cyclic loading at higher mean stress. Finally, the elastic modulus increases and the ratcheting strain is restrained apparently after the pretension. In addition, the elastic modulus and ratcheting strain of the PTFE/bronze with both pretension and recovery are smaller than those with pretension but without recovery. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1571–1578, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Strain‐rate and temperature effects on the deformation of polypropylene and its simulation under monotonic compression and bending

Monotonic compressive loading and bending tests are conducted for solid polypropylene (PP) under constant or time‐varying strain‐rates and temperatures of 10, 25, 40°C. The observed compressive stress‐strain responses under constant conditions have revealed that the inelastic deformation behavior is remarkably dependent on loading rates and temperatures of normal use. The examination of such inelastic behavior has indicated that the strain‐rate effects correspond with the temperature effects based on the concept of time‐temperature equivalence. The viscoplastic constitutive theory based on overstress (VBO) has successfully reproduced the experimental responses with stress‐jumping phenomena using the equivalent time. Four‐point bending tests are performed under monotonic loading and holding for PP beams at three different temperatures. The observed deformation behavior has shown that the Bernoulli‐Euler hypothesis is valid. The VBO model and beam bending theory has generated the basic equations for PP beams, showing an analogy with the uniaxial one. In the numerical analysis, the equations are transformed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations with use of Gaussian quadrature for the spatial integrals. The comparison of numerical and experimental results has suggested some modifications for actually loaded moment taking the effect of deflection and friction into consideration. Finally, the numerical calculation has simulated the experimental time‐histories of curvatures fairly well.     

Influence of temperature on viscoelastic–viscoplastic behavior of poly(lactic acid) under loading–unloading

Experimental data are reported on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) in tensile loading–unloading tests and relaxation tests under stretching and retraction at temperatures ranging from room temperature up to 50°C. Two characteristic features of the time‐dependent response of PLA are revealed: (i) with a decrease in minimum stress under retraction at a fixed temperature, relaxation curves change their shape from monotonically decaying with time (simple relaxation), to non‐monotonic (mixed relaxation) to monotonically increasing (inverse relaxation) and (ii) with an increase in temperature, inverse relaxation after unloading down to the zero stress evolves into mixed relaxation with a pronounced shift of the peak position to smaller relaxation times. Constitutive equations are derived for the mechanical behavior of PLA, and adjustable parameters in the stress–strain relations are found by fitting the observations. Ability of the model to predict the time‐dependent response under cyclic deformation is confirmed by numerical simulation. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:239–247, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Nonlinear viscoelastic model for the prediction of double yielding in a linear low‐density polyethylene film

Tensile testing and tensile creep experiments for linear low‐density polyethylene in a thin‐film form were examined and analyzed in terms of a nonlinear viscoelastic model. The proposed model, based on two distinct thermally activated rate processes (Eyring models), was proved to describe the double‐yield‐point tensile behavior of the material tested. The required model parameters were evaluated from the corresponding creep‐strain curves, and this revealed the relationship between the main aspects of the inelastic behavior of polymers, that is, the monotonic loading and creep response. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3519–3527, 2004     

Plastic deformation of low‐density polyethylene reinforced with biodegradable polylactide,Part 2: Creep characterization and modeling

The behavior of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) and two blends prepared with polylactide (PLA) was determined by means of a novel video‐controlled testing method under stretching at constant true strain rate, under creep at constant true stress, and under creep at constant nominal stress. Most tests were performed at 23°C and 50°C. In this second part, the experimental data are modeled with the G'Sell‐Jonas phenomenological law expressing the axial true stress versus axial true strain and axial true strain rate. This model describes correctly the various deformation stages: (i) initial viscoelasticity, (ii) plastic yielding, and (iii) strain hardening up to rupture. It shows clearly the reinforcing effect of the PLA particles that increases the yield stress in stretching experiments and slows down the deformation kinetics under creep. It is shown how the local stress/strain behavior is related to the standard force/extension curves. Consequently, it is proposed that tensile tests at constant true strain rates should be systematically preferred to creep tests for the characterization of constitutive relations because they take much less time to be performed. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Micromechanical model of time-dependent damage and deformation behavior for an orthogonal 3D-woven SiC/SiC composite at elevated temperature in vacuum

This paper presents a micromechanical model to predict the time-dependent damage and deformation behavior of an orthogonal 3-D woven SiC fiber/BN interface/SiC matrix composite under constant tensile loading at elevated temperature in vacuum. In-situ observation under monotonic tensile loading at room temperature, load–unload tensile testing at 1200 °C in argon, and constant load tensile testing at 1200 °C in vacuum were conducted to investigate the effects of microscopic damage on deformation behavior. The experimentally obtained results led to production of a time-dependent nonlinear stress–strain response model for the orthogonal 3-D woven SiC/SiC. It was established using the linear viscoelastic model, micro-damage propagation model, and a shear-lag model. The predicted creep deformation was found to agree well with the experimentally obtained results.     

An integral constitutive equation for nonlinear plasto-viscoelastic behavior of high-density polyethylene

In the present paper an effort is made to model the time-dependent behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with a one-dimensional integral representation. Owing to the plasto-viscoelastic behavior of the material, we assume that the total strain can be decomposed into a recoverable viscoelastic strain and an irrecoverable plastic strain. The viscoelastic deformation is represented by the Schapery thermodynamic theory. The plastic deformation is assumed to be accumulated during the loading history. An effective time concept is introduced for the plastic deformation, so that the response due to complex loading can be accounted for. The present representation gives a very good prediction of the responses of creep and recovery, two-step creep, and constant stress rate loading and unloading. It is also applied successfully to describe the process of preconditioning of semicrystalline polymers.     

The influence of the stress relaxation and creep recovery times on the viscoelastic properties of open cell foams

The aim of this work is to study the mechanical behavior of flexible polyurethane foams used in cushioning applications. In particular, the differences between slow recovery (SR) and fast recovery (FR) foams are highlighted. To characterize the flexible polyurethane foams, creep and hysteresis tests were performed at different strain rate, stress levels, and temperatures. Significant differences were observed between the SR and FR foams, particularly in terms of residual deformation after unloading, hysteresis area, and creep behavior at different stress levels. Creep compliance at different stress levels was compared with a Voigt‐Kelvin model. Stress–strain loading curves were compared with a phenomenological model originally modified to account for the strain rate dependence. In both cases, it is possible to show that the main differences observed in the behavior of the foams are due to the different relaxation and recovery times of the foams. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Cyclic interaction between normal and shear stresses of an epoxy polymer—Experiments and model predictions

This investigation focuses on the axial‐torsional loading interaction of an epoxy polymer, Epon 826/Epi‐Cure Curing Agent 9551. Thin‐walled tubular specimens were subjected to combined constant tensile (or shear) stress and cyclic shear (or tension) loading schemes. Pure tensile creep and shear creep tests were also performed to compare the creep deformation to that with superimposed cyclic shear or cyclic tension. Test data clearly showed that cyclic shear (or cyclic tension) have a readily discernible effect on the tensile (or shear) creep deformation. Similarly, a superimposed constant tensile (or shear) load affects the hysteresis responses in cyclic shear (or cyclic tension). A nonlinear constitutive model developed by the authors was used to simulate the observed normal‐shear stress interaction. Due to the inclusion of an effective stress parameter in its nonlinear function, this model was able to account for the normal‐shear coupling effect. However, the incorporation of a general loading/unloading rule led to inaccurate simulation of the observed oscillatory creep response. A modification of the general rule was proposed and better predictions on both the cyclic and the creep responses could be obtained. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Temperature-dependent mechanical properties and constitutive equation of cellulose nitrate

The strain-time response under tensile loading (creep tests) and the stress strain response under constant tensile stress rate (proportional loading tests) have been evaluated at 4 temperatures 20, 45, 55, and 65°C, for samples of cellulose nitrate. A time-dependent constitutive equation (or stress-strain relation) for the nonlinear visco-elastic material is deduced from invariant theory with a hypothesis of a creep potential. The procedure for determining the seven material constants involved in the deduced constitutive equation is described for the creep and proportional loading tests and the variation of these constants with temperature is presented. The deduced constitutive equation gives good agreement with the actual observations for the creep and proportional loading tests, independent of the values of temperature, creep stress, or stress rate.     

Creep strain recovery of an in situ spinel-forming refractory castable under loading/unloading compressive creep conditions

Creep strain recovery after unloading has been well studied for metals and certain ceramic composites; however, it has not yet been investigated for ordinary ceramic refractories applied in industrial furnaces. The present study explores the question whether creep strain recovery can be observed in ordinary ceramic refractories to justify its consideration in the design of such refractories and refractory linings. To this end, the dependence of creep strain recovery on different loading conditions was investigated for a high-alumina in situ spinel-forming castable, commonly used as refractory lining of steel ladles in secondary steel metallurgy. Several loading/unloading compressive creep tests were performed at 1300 °C for different loading histories. Creep strain recovery was observed to occur and it was significantly affected by the holding time and degree of unloading. A longer holding time for the loading period was found to increase the internal stress, which is the driving force for creep strain recovery. In addition, the findings indicate that a higher excess of internal stress over external stress after unloading induces higher strain recovery.     

Effects of loading rate on viscoplastic properties of polymer geosynthetics and its constitutive modeling

On the basis of the special tensile test results under various loading histories, the rate‐dependent behaviors of three polymer geosynthetics due to their viscous properties have been investigated. All the investigated polymer geosynthetics show significant loading rate effects, creep deformation, and stress relaxation. Except for the polyester geogrid showing the combined viscosity, all the investigated polymer geosynthetics exhibit the isotach viscosity. An elasto‐viscoplastic constitutive model described in a nonlinear three‐component model framework is developed to simulate the rate‐dependent behaviors of polymer geosynthetics. The developed constitutive model is verified by comparing its simulated results with the experimental data of polymer geosynthetics presented in this study and those available from the literature. The comparison indicates that the developed model can reasonably interpret the rate‐dependent behaviors of polymer geosynthetics under arbitrary loading histories, including the step‐changed strain rate loading, creep, and stress relaxation applied during otherwise monotonic loading (ML). POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermo‐mechanical Coupling Properties of Proton Exchange Membrane in Liquid Water

In this study, the effects of the combination and interaction of thermal and mechanical loading on mechanical behaviors of proton exchange membranes (PEMs) under immersed condition were investigated. Experiments under two kinds of loading path were performed: the quasi‐simultaneous loading path where mechanical loads and temperature occurred simultaneously and the rectangular loading path where thermal and mechanical loads were inserted in turn. The quasi‐simultaneous loading path is composed of in‐phase, 90° and 180° out‐of‐phase loading paths. Comparison between in‐phase and 180° out‐of‐phase loading paths showed that strain accumulation under in‐phase loading path mainly resulted from creep strain while that under 180° out‐of‐phase loading path were mostly induced by cyclic stress. Accumulation of strain was comprised of tensile strain and creep strain, and these two strain components showed different evolution trends with thermo‐mechanical cycles. In addition, the modulus of the membrane was history‐dependent as indicated from results of rectangular loading path. Through comparing creep strain with strain energy density which is an indicator of damage in the membrane, we came to the conclusion that creep strain contributed to the damage of the membrane in the first three cycles.     

Viscoplastic analysis of fiber reinforced polymer matrix composites under various loading conditions

The present study aims modeling the viscoplastic behavior of polymer matrix composite laminates under different loading conditions. The adopted model is based on the one‐parameter plasticity model employed to predict the plastic part of the recognized nonlinear behavior of fiber composites [C.T. Sun and J.L. Chen, J. Compos. Mater., 23, 1009 (1989)]. This model evolved to a three‐parameter constitutive viscoplastic model used to describe successfully the strain‐rate dependent mechanical behavior. Based on this model, designated as 3PV, a numerical implementation was made, based on the Classical Laminate Theory (CTL), to simulate non‐linear behavior of general laminates. The validation of this numerical implementation was performed using experimental data reported in literature. The first step was to assess the model predictions under high strain rates. The model was able to model high strain rate mechanical response, of an epoxy system reinforced with glass fibers, between 10 and 2,500 s⁻¹. Furthermore the model proved to be reasonable accurate to simulate creep, stress relaxation and constant strain rate loading of the same material system under high temperatures. Following the experimental observations of vsicoplasticity strain evaluation during load and unloading made by Kim and Tsai [J. Compos. Mater. 36(6), 745 (2002)], a simple model modification is suggested. This modified model proved accurate enough to simulate relaxation successfully of a composite during loading and unloading. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Tensile Creep and Creep-Recovery Behavior of a SiC-Fiber─Si3N4-Matrix Composite

The tensile creep and creep-recovery behavior of a unidirectional SiC-fiber/Si₃N₄-matrix composite was investigated at 1200°C in air. A primary objective of the study was to determine how various sustained and cyclic creep loading histories would influence the creep rate, accumulated creep strain, and the amount of strain recovered upon specimen unloading. The key results obtained from the investigation can be summarized as follows: (1) A threshold stress of 60 MPa was identified, below which the creep rate of the composite was exceedingly low (∼10⁻¹² s⁻¹). (2) Periodic fiber fracture was identified as a fundamental damage mode for sustained tensile creep at stresses of 200 and 250 MPa. (3) Because of transient stress redistribution between the fibers and matrix, the creep life and failure mode at 250 MPa. were strongly influenced by the rate at which the initial creep stress was applied. (4) Very dramatic creep-strain recovery occurred during cyclic creep; for cyclic loading between stress limits of 200 and 2 MPa, 80% of the prior creep strain was recovered during 50-h-creep/ 50-h-unloading cycles and over 90% during 300-s-creep/ 300-s-unloading cycles. (5) Cyclic loading significantly lowered the duration of primary creep and overall creep-strain accumulation. The implications of the results for microstructural and component design are discussed.     

Experimental and numerical study on creep behaviors of 2D twill woven quartz fiber/silica matrix composites

This study investigates the creep deformation, damage, and rupture behaviors of 2D woven SiO₂/SiO₂ composites via experimental and numerical methods. In situ monotonic tensile tests and creep tests were conducted at 900 °C using a self-designed experimental system and digital image correlation. The tested specimens were characterized by X-ray computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy to conduct quantitative analyses and fracture observations. The obtained creep strain–time curves consist of primary and secondary stages, similar to the creep strain–time curves of most ceramic matrix composites. The matrix at the intersection of fiber bundles cracked under tensile loading. During subsequent creep loading, the propagation of matrix cracks, interfacial debonding, and fiber breakage in longitudinal fiber bundles were observed. At the mesoscale, the creep rupture entails a mechanism analogous to that observed in the monotonic tensile tests. Overall, the SiO₂/SiO₂ composites employed in this study exhibit excellent potential for long-term operation under mechanical loads at high temperatures. Next, a micromechanics-based creep model was proposed to simulate the creep behavior of the composites. In this model, the primary creep law and rule of mixtures were combined to describe the stress redistribution of various constituents and predict the deformation of the composites. In addition, the rupture life was predicted based on the global load-sharing model, two-parameter Weibull model, and shear lag model. The degradation of the matrix modulus and fiber strength was also considered to improve the accuracy of the simulation. The predicted results were in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Tensile strain‐rate response of polymeric fiber composites

The tensile behavior of unidirectional glass‐fiber polymer composites was studied at three different strain rates. Tests were performed on 0° specimens as well as off‐axis specimens at 15°, 30°, 45°, and 90° with respect to the axis of tension. The nonlinear material behavior was modeled through a viscoplastic model based on a one‐parameter plastic potential function developed elsewhere. An effective stress‐effective plastic strain curve was constructed for each strain rate imposed and fitted with a power law. Thus, the tensile stress–strain curve could be predicted in a very accurate way for every strain rate examined and various types of off‐axis specimens. The strain rate‐dependent behavior is described through a scaling law, assuming that a model parameter is a function of the imposed strain rate. Predictions of the material response at strain rates different from those initially studied were found to be successful. POLYM. COMPOS., 26:572–579, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers