Essential work of fracture analysis of the tearing of a ductile polymer film

• Published in: Engineering fracture mechanics Vol. 77; no. 14; pp. 2654 - 2661
• Main Authors: Martínez, A.B., Segovia, A., Gamez-Perez, J., Maspoch, M.Ll
• Format: Journal Article Publication
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.09.2010; Elsevier
• Subjects: Assaig de fractura; Assaig de materials; Block copolymers; Copolímers de bloc; Crack initiation; Ductile fracture; Enginyeria dels materials; Essential work of fracture (EWF); Exact sciences and technology; Fractura; Fracture mechanics; Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...); Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Materials plàstics i polímers; Physics; Polímers; Solid mechanics; Structural and continuum mechanics; Àrees temàtiques de la UPC; Essential work of fracture (EWF); Ductile fracture; Crack initiation; Ethylene copolymer; Polymer films; Block copolymer
• ISSN: 0013-7944; 1873-7315
• DOI: 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2010.07.017

The fracture behaviour of a 0.5 mm thick ethylene–propylene block copolymer, previously evaluated using the essential work of fracture method, has been analyzed again in more detail, using different plots, allowing the determination of the crack initiation displacement and stress. In such plots is evidenced that the specific essential work of fracture, w e , corresponds to the energy just up to crack initiation value that can be related with J 0. Also, it has been found a novel relationship between the plastic term, βw p and the crack initiation stress, σ i .