Dynamic Fracture in Viscoelastic Solids.
Abstract
Three areas of dynamic viscoelastic crack propagation are considered experimentally. To the extent that the gross mechanical properties of a material are viscoelastic, its fracture behavior should be influenced by rate effects (loading rates, crack speeds, etc.) and by temperature through the time-temperature relation. Homalite 100 and a polyurethane, Solithane 113, chosen as model materials, are studied using the method of caustics and high speed photography. The variation of the stress intensity factor and the velocity of a running crack are determined when initiated and driven by dynamic step loading on the faces of an initial semi-infinite crack in an infinite medium. Post-mortem analysis of the fracture surfaces and manipulation of parameters in the materials manufacturing process are utilized to illuminate the micromechanics of the fracture behavior, in particular as it relates to crack branching. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 30, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA159498
Entities
People
- W. G. Knauss
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology