The influence of temperature and strain rate on the constitutive and damage responses of polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE, Kel-F 81)

Polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE), also known as Kel-F 81, is a semi-crystalline fluoropolymer. Although it has been employed in a wide range of cryogenic components, valve seats, seals, and microelectronics packaging, its mechanical behavior has received limited coverage in the literature. In this work, we present the tensile and compressive constitutive response of PCTFE for a range of temperatures (−85 to 150 °C) and strain rates (1 × 10⁻⁴-2.9 × 10³ s⁻¹). Both large-strain experiments based on flow stress and small-strain dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) using the elastic modulus exhibit a strong increase in the glass transition temperature, T_g, with increasing strain rate. The quasistatic fracture behavior of PCTFE is presented using J-integral fracture experiments. Finally, a discussion of the implication of the constitutive and damage responses of PCTFE on impact failure modes observed in Taylor impact experiments is presented.