Size and mechanical properties of craze zones at propagating crack tips in poly(methyl methacrylate) during fatigue loading

In specimens of high molecular weight poly(methyl methacrylate) the microregion at the crack tip has been investigated during fatigue crack propagation by applying the optical interference method in a specially constructed experimental set-up. Thus, in the frequency range of 0.4 to 50 Hz the size and contour of the craze zone were directly measured at upper and lower load of the cycles. In contrast to previous assumptions it is established that the maximum craze width at the crack tip and hence the maximum length of stretched fibrils increases strongly with crack propagation rate. The directly measured craze data and also the material parameters indirectly derived by the aid of the Dugdale model are related to those data which have been measured during continuous crack propagation under quasi-static tensile load. The spacings of the fatigue striations on the fracture surfaces are compared with the lengths of the craze zones.