Modeling multiaxial impact behavior of a glassy polymer

In many applications of polymers, impact performance is a primary concern. Impact tests experimentally performed on molding prototypes yield useful data for a particular structural and impact loading case. But, it is generally not practical in terms of time and cost to experimentally characterize the effects of a wide range of design variables. A successful numerical model for impact deformation and failure of polymers can provide convenient and useful guidelines on product design and therefore decrease the disadvantages that arise from purely experimental trial and error. Since the specimen geometry and loading mode for multiaxial impact test provides a close correlation with practical impact conditions and can conveniently provide experimental data, the first step of validating a numerical model is to simulate this type of test. In this paper, we create a finite element analysis model using ABAQUS/Explicit to simulate the deformation and failure of a glassy ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) polymer in the standard ASTM D3763 multiaxial impact test. Since polymers often exhibit different behavior in uniaxial tensile and compression tests, the uniaxial compression or tensile tests are generally not representative of the three-dimensional deformation behavior under impact loading. A hydrostatic pressure effect (controlled by the parameter γ) is used to generalize a previously developed constitutive model ("DSGZ" model) so that it can describe the entire range of deformation behavior of polymers under any monotonic loading modes. The generalized DSGZ model and a failure criterion are incorporated in the FEA model as a user material subroutine. The phenomenon of thermomechanical coupling during plastic deformation is considered in the analysis. Impact load vs. displacement and impact energy vs. displacement curves from FEA simulation are compared with experimental data. The results show good agreement. Finally, equivalent stress, strain, strain rate and temperature distributions in the polymer disk are presented. Electronic Publication