Effect of High Pressure Processing on the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Polyethylene Films Measured by Dynamical Mechanical and Tensile Analyses

This study investigated the influence of high pressure processing on the thermal and mechanical properties of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) films used for food packaging. This was carried out by monitoring the thermal and mechanical properties of the materials before and after the pressure treatments. Pouches made from the LDPE films were pressured at 200, 400 and 800 MPa for 5 and 10 min at 25 and 75°C. The storage and loss moduli, tensile strength and elongation at break and yield of the film samples were then measured using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and an Instron® Universal Tester (Canton, MA, USA), respectively. The DMA was performed at ?130 to 85°C, whereas the tensile and elongation analyses were carried out at room temperature. Results of the DMA experiments showed that the storage modulus increased with increasing pressure intensity. The tensile analysis showed that the tensile strength increased but the elongation decreased with increasing pressure treatment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hygrothermal characterization of the viscoelastic properties of Gore-Select® 57 proton exchange membrane

When a proton exchange membrane (PEM) based fuel cell is placed in service, hygrothermal stresses develop within the membrane and vary widely with internal operating environment. These hygrothermal stresses associated with hygral contraction and expansion at the operating conditions are believed to be critical in membrane mechanical integrity and durability. Understanding and accurately modeling the viscoelastic constitutive properties of a PEM is important for making hygrothermal stress predictions in the cyclic temperature and humidity environment of operating fuel cells. The tensile stress relaxation moduli of a commercially available PEM, Gore-Select^® 57, were obtained over a range of humidities and temperatures. These tests were performed using TA Instruments 2980 and Q800 dynamic mechanical analyzers (DMA), which are capable of applying specified tensile loading conditions on small membrane samples at a given temperature. A special humidity chamber was built in the form of a cup that encloses tension clamps of the DMA. The chamber was inserted in the heating furnace of the DMA and connected to a gas humidification unit by means of plastic tubing through a slot in the chamber. Stress relaxation data over a temperature range of 40–90°C and relative humidity range of 30–90% were obtained. Thermal and hygral master curves were constructed using thermal and hygral shift factors and were used to form a hygrothermal master curve using the time temperature moisture superposition principle. The master curve was also constructed independently using just one shift factor. The hygrothermal master curve was fitted with a 10-term Prony series for use in finite element software. The hygrothermal master curve was then validated using longer term tests. The relaxation modulus from longer term data matches well with the hygrothermal master curve. The long term test showed a plateau at longer times, suggesting an equilibrium modulus.     

甲基乙烯基硅橡胶/丁基橡胶的阻尼性能与热稳定性研究

用共混-硫化法制备了甲基乙烯基硅橡胶/丁基橡胶(PMVS/IIR)复合材料,并采用拉伸测试和动态力学测试(DMA)、TG分析了材料的力学性能、阻尼性能和在空气中的热稳定性.结果表明,通过改变聚合物组分的配比和硫化剂的用量,可得到力学性能较好的复合材料.DMA测试表明,与硅橡胶相比,在以酚醛树脂作为硫化剂时,复合材料的阻尼温域从0℃拓宽到近150℃(-50～100 ℃),阻尼因子从0.12提高到0.69.所制备出的材料可作为阻尼材料使用.     

硫化橡胶动态力学性能的分数阶微分Kelvin模型

研究炭黑填充硫化橡胶的动态粘弹性,采用Gabo Eplexor 500N对材料进行不同频率时的温度扫描测试,得到材料玻璃化转变温度Tg随频率的变化规律。在Tg~Tg+50℃范围内进行不同温度的频率扫描测试,得到材料存储模量、损耗模量和损耗因子。采用分数阶微分Kelvin模型对动态粘弹特性进行分析,确定了模型参数。结果表明,分数阶微分Kelvin模型可以较好地描述材料在不同温度和较宽频率范围内的动态粘弹性力学行为。当温度高于Tg时,随着温度的升高,材料从Tg附近的粘弹态向高温时的橡胶态转变,模型中的微分阶数相应地逐渐减小。     

Development of a stress-mode sensitive viscoelastic constitutive relationship for asphalt concrete: experimental and numerical modeling

Asphalt binder is responsible for the thermo-viscoelastic mechanical behavior of asphalt concrete. Upon application of pure compressive stress to an asphalt concrete specimen, the stress is transferred by mechanisms such as aggregate interlock and the adhesion/cohesion properties of asphalt mastic. In the pure tensile stress mode, aggregate interlock plays a limited role in stress transfer, and the mastic phase plays the dominant role through its adhesive/cohesive and viscoelastic properties. Under actual combined loading patterns, any coordinate direction may experience different stress modes; therefore, the mechanical behavior is not the same in the different directions and the asphalt specimen behaves as an anisotropic material. The present study developed an anisotropic nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive relationship that is sensitive to the tension/compression stress mode by extending Schapery’s nonlinear viscoelastic model. The proposed constitutive relationship was implemented in Abaqus using a user material (UMAT) subroutine in an implicit scheme. Uniaxial compression and indirect tension (IDT) testing were used to characterize the viscoelastic properties of the bituminous materials and to calibrate and validate the proposed constitutive relationship. Compressive and tensile creep compliances were calculated using uniaxial compression, as well as IDT test results, for different creep-recovery loading patterns at intermediate temperature. The results showed that both tensile creep compliance and its rate were greater than those of compression. The calculated deflections based on these IDT test simulations were compared with experimental measurements and were deemed acceptable. This suggests that the proposed viscoelastic constitutive relationship correctly demonstrates the viscoelastic response and is more accurate for analysis of asphalt concrete in the laboratory or in situ.     

3种粘结剂材料的力学性能对比研究

对比研究了F2311、F2314和Estane5703粘结剂的粘弹性能和准静态拉伸、压缩力学性能.利用修正的"朱-王-唐"非线性粘弹性本构关系描述了粘结剂拉伸屈服前的力学响应.结果表明,弹性模量关系为F2314＞F2311＞Estane5703;拉伸断裂强度关系为F2314＞Estane5703＞F2311;拉伸断裂延伸率关系为F2311＞Estane5703＞F2314.总的来说,F2311与Estane5703性能比较接近,而F2314与前两者相差较大.Estane5703具有介于F2311和F2314之间的断裂强度和韧性,是很好的粘结剂.研究结果为PBX炸药配方设计中粘结剂材料的选择提供了重要的依据.     

Characterization and constitutive modeling of aramid fibers at high strain rates

The quasi-static and rate-dependent mechanical properties of aramid yarns are presented together with a study on different methods of securing yarn specimens in tensile tests. While capstans were found to be suitable for quasi-static tests, they either were not strong enough or had too high inertia for dynamic tests in a Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar setup. Instead, specially designed clamps were used. A viscoelastic material model to describe the mechanical behavior of the yarns, including failure, is also presented. The material model was employed in the computational simulation of ballistic penetration of woven aramid fabrics. Comparison of the simulations and actual ballistic tests showed that predictions of the energy absorbed by the fabric were in good agreement with the experiments.     

Multi Modal Dynamic Linear Viscoelastic Back Analysis for Asphalt Mixes

In this paper, an investigation was performed to determine the accuracy of a simplified viscoelastic back analysis to interpret dynamic loading tests on asphalt mixes (AM). First, quasi-static cyclic tension–compression lab tests were performed on different AM to fit the 3 dimensional 2S2P1D linear viscoelastic (LVE) model. Considering these tests on very different types of AM, a LVE material with “averaged” viscoelastic properties was obtained. Then, these “averaged” viscoelastic properties were considered to perform finite elements method numerical simulations of dynamic loading tests on a cylinder. The simulations were performed at ten different temperatures from \(-\,40\) to 50 \({^\circ }\)C. The longitudinal, flexural and torsional modes of vibration are studied. The complex Young’s modulus and complex Poisson’s ratio were first obtained using the viscoelastic 2S2P1D model at the first resonance frequency for the three studied modes of vibration. Then, a combined viscoelastic back analysis, which has the advantage of simplicity, was used to determine the elastic equivalent properties and the phase angle of the material. The results obtained directly with the 2S2P1D model and the results from the combined viscoelastic back analysis results regarding both the Young’s modulus and the Poisson’s ratio are discussed in the paper.     

Influence of processing and testing conditions on the mechanical behaviour of sheet-moulding compound laminates

Studies have been carried out in order to optimize the compression-moulding cycle for two classes of commercial sheet-moulding compounds, standard and low-shrink prepregs. The laminates have been moulded at different temperature and pressure conditions, and afterwards their mechanical behaviour has been analysed by flexural and tensile tests at various temperatures and strain rates. Furthermore, dynamic-mechanical measurements have been used to correlate temperature-dependent viscoelastic properties, and the structure of the moulded materials.     

Dynamic mechanical and ultrasonic properties of polyurea

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and ultrasonic measurements were carried out to study the temperature and frequency dependences of viscoelastic properties of polyurea. Master curves of Young’s storage and loss moduli were developed from the DMA data. Relaxation spectra were subsequently calculated by means of two approximate models, and the apparent activation energy of molecular rearrangements was also determined based on the temperature dependence of the time-temperature shift factor. Velocity and attenuation of longitudinal and shear ultrasonic waves in polyurea were measured in the 0.5-2 MHz frequency range between −60 and 30 °C temperatures. The complex longitudinal and shear moduli were computed from these measurements. Combining these results provided an estimate of the complex bulk and Young’s moduli at high frequencies. The results of the DMA and temperature and frequency shifted ultrasonic measurements are compared and similarities and deviations are discussed.     

Time-dependent poisson’s ratio of polypropylene compounds for various strain histories

Due to the viscoelastic behavior of polymers mechanical properties are strongly affected by the loading history. To obtain the time-dependent Poisson’s ratio without further data manipulation, stress relaxation tests have to be carried out. Only few results for viscoelastic materials have been published to date, but the theory of Poisson’s ratio in the framework of linear viscoelasticity has received some attention with respect to loading histories other than relaxation, i.e. creep and constant rate of strain tests.The main objective of this work is to compare the potential of different testing methods to determine Poisson’s ratio. Transverse and axial strain have been measured in relaxation tests, creep experiments and displacement rate controlled tensile tests. Relaxation tests are evaluated accounting for the finite loading time and the results are compared with those of tensile creep and displacement rate controlled tensile tests. An optimization based method to determine linear viscoelastic material functions developed previously is applied to calculate Poisson’s ratio.     

强动载荷下焊接钢板力学性能及本构模型研究

为研究强动载荷下船用焊接钢板的力学性能。开展了典型船用焊接钢板母材、焊缝和热影响区的准静态拉伸试验、高温拉伸试验及SHPB动态压缩试验,分析了焊接钢板材料在不同应力状态下的力学行为,基于力学性能试验结果拟合了焊接钢板母材、焊缝和热影响区材料的本构模型。结果表明:准静态条件下,与母材相比,焊缝和热影响区材料的屈服强度与抗拉强度偏大,延伸率偏小;高应变率下,热影响区材料抵抗塑性变形的能力明显强于其他两种材料,且随着应变率的增加抵抗塑性变形的能力呈增强趋势;焊接板母材、焊缝与热影响区材料均表现出应变率效应和温度效应;热影响区是焊接板抗冲击性能相对薄弱的区域。建立的Johnson-Cook模型可以描述强动载荷下焊接钢板的力学性能。     

Dynamic mechanical characterization of hydroxyapatite reinforced polyethylene: effect of particle size

Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was used to characterize biomedical composites consisting of synthetic hydroxyapatite (HA) particulate reinforced polyethylene (PE). The effects of the HA volume fraction, temperature and HA particle on the storage modulus (E ^I) and damping (tan ) were investigated. Increasing HA volume fractions increased E ^I and decreased tan . E ^I was found to be linearly related to the Young's modulus values obtained from quasi-static tensile tests. Relative modulus and damping studies showed that the viscoelastic behavior of unfilled PE was different to that of the filled matrix due to the presence of thermally induced tensile stresses in the matrix at the filler-matrix interface.     

黄麻纤维束力学性能的尺寸和应变率效应

为了探究黄麻纤维束的尺寸效应和应变率敏感性,利用C43电子式万能试验机和CEAST 9340落锤试验冲击系统分别在静动载条件下对黄麻纤维束进行测试,获得了杨氏模量、强度、峰值应变和韧性随标距和应变率的变化关系静载试验在1/600s-1应变率条件下进行,测试了6组不同标距(25、50、100、150、200和300mm)的试件;动载试验以应变率为变量,在4组不同的应变率(40、80、120和160s-1)条件下进行了测试,试件标距均为25mm。测试结果表明:随着试件标距增大,杨氏模量初始增大,当标距大于100mm时趋于稳定;强度、峰值应变和韧性均减小。随着应变率增大,杨氏模量和强度均增大;峰值应变初始减小后趋于稳定;韧性先减小后增大。鉴于植物纤维束材料较大的性能离散性,采用Weibull分布对试验数据进行拟合,获得了黄麻纤维束强度在不同试验条件(标距和应变率)下的分布规律。     

Strain rate and gage length effects on tensile behavior of Kevlar 49 single yarn

In the present paper, Kevlar® 49 single yarns with different gage lengths were tested under both quasi-static loading at a strain rate of 4.2 × 10^?4 s^?1 using a MTS load frame and dynamic tensile loading over a strain rate range of 20–100 s^?1 using a servo-hydraulic high-rate testing system. The experimental results showed that the material mechanical properties are dependent on gage length and strain rate. Young’s modulus, tensile strength, maximum strain and toughness increase with increasing strain rate under dynamic loading; however the tensile strength decreases with increasing gage length under quasi-static loading. Weibull statistics were used to quantify the degree of variability in yarn strength at different gage lengths and strain rates. This data was then used to build an analytical model simulating the stress–strain response of single yarn under dynamic loading. The model predictions agree reasonably well with the experimental data.     

Preparation and characterisation in simulated body conditions of glutaraldehyde crosslinked chitosan membranes

Chitosan membranes, aimed at biomedical applications, were prepared by a solvent casting methodology. Crosslinking was previously performed in acetic acid solution with glutaraldehyde, in order to obtain different degrees of crosslinking. Some membranes were neutralised in a NaOH solution. Mechanical tensile tests comprised quasi-static experiments at constant stress rate and temperature sweep dynamic mechanical analysis tests. This included measurements with the samples immersed in isotonic saline solution at 37 degrees C, in order to simulate physiological conditions, that were performed using a specific liquid container. It was observed that for higher crosslinking levels the membranes become stiffer but their strength decreases; these results are in agreement with swelling tests, also performed at body temperature. All the membranes exhibited similar and significant damping properties in wet conditions, which were stable in a broad temperature range. Weight loss measurements showed that the developed membranes degrade slowly up to 60 days. Cytotoxicity screening, using cell culture tests, showed that eventually such materials could be adequate for use in biomedical applications.     

Destructive and nondestructive evaluations of the effect of moisture absorption on the mechanical properties of polyester-based composites

In this study the effect of moisture absorption on the mechanical properties of glass-reinforced polyester composites is evaluated using both destructive and nondestructive tests. The composite resins were produced with two different production processes, while the mechanical properties of the composite materials were measured using DMA destruction tests. According to the DMA tests, the dependency in terms of temperature for the real component of the complex elastic modulus (E′), the imaginary component of the complex elastic modulus (E″), as well as tan(δ) can be traced. For a more efficient use of the composite materials, the compliance tensor was obtained with nondestructive tests based on ultrasound. A method for the generation and reception of Lamb waves in plates of composite materials is described, based on using air-coupling, low-frequency, ultrasound transducers in a pitch–catch configuration. The results of the nondestructive measurements made in this study are in good agreement with those obtained when using the DMA destructive tests.     

Experimentally-based relaxation modulus of polyurea and its composites

Polyurea is a block copolymer that has been widely used in the coating industry as an abrasion-resistant and energy-dissipative material. Its mechanical properties can be tuned by choosing different variations of diamines and diisocyanates as well as by adding various nano- and micro-inclusions to create polyurea-based composites. Our aim here is to provide the necessary experimentally-based viscoelastic constitutive relations for polyurea and its composites in a format convenient to support computational studies. The polyurea used in this research is synthesized by the reaction of Versalink P-1000 (Air Products) and Isonate 143L (Dow Chemicals). Samples of pure polyurea and polyurea composites are fabricated and then characterized using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Based on the DMA data, master curves of storage and loss moduli are developed using time–temperature superposition. The quality of the master curves is carefully assessed by comparing with the ultrasonic wave measurements and by Kramers–Kronig relations. Based on the master curves, continuous relaxation spectra are calculated, then the time-domain relaxation moduli are approximated from the relaxation spectra. Prony series of desired number of terms for the frequency ranges of interest are extracted from the relaxation modulus. This method for developing cost efficient Prony series has been proven to be effective and efficient for numerous DMA test results of many polyurea/polyurea-based material systems, including pure polyurea with various stoichiometric ratios, polyurea with milled glass inclusions, polyurea with hybrid nano-particles and polyurea with phenolic microbubbles. The resulting viscoelastic models are customized for the frequency ranges of interest, reference temperature and desired number of Prony terms, achieving both computational accuracy and low cost. The method is not limited to polyurea-based systems. It can be applied to other similar polymers systems.     

Tensile mechanical properties and surface chemical sensitivity of technical fibres from date palm fruit branches (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

The paper describes the manufacturing process and the characterization of the tensile mechanical properties of treated and untreated palm dates long technical fibres. The fibres extracted from Fruit Bunch Branch of Palm Date (FBBPD) have been subjected to alkaline treatment with different NaOH concentrations at room temperature. The experimental results show that the chemical technical fibre treatments provide an increase of the mechanical properties (tensile strength and Young’s modulus) under quasi-static tensile loading. A specific treatment leads a threefold increase of the failure stress. An analysis of stress at failure has been performed over a population of 630 samples using Weibull statistics with two and three-parameters, together with a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). FBBPD technical fibres show stiffness and strength performance comparable to the ones of agave Americana L fibres, and higher failure at strength than okra fibres.     

Yield behaviour of renewable biocomposites of dimer fatty acid-based polyamides with cellulose fibres

The yield behaviour of dimer acid-based polyamides (DAPA) and DAPA reinforced with cellulose fibres (CF) was examined in this study. Both dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile tests were used to follow the effect of strain rate or frequency, temperature and filler content on the transitions temperatures, the storage modulus and the yield stresses. The DMA results show that the storage modulus increases with increasing CF concentration. The tensile tests reveal that the yield stress is strain rate, temperature and CF concentration sensitive. Both activation enthalpy and activation volume calculated by the Eyring’s model reveal a slight increase of activation energy with increasing filler content and a decrease of the activation volume. A micromechanically-model was used to predict the yield stress of both DAPA and DAPA/cellulose composites. The model predictions of the yield stress are in good agreement with the experimental data.