SearcharxivSearch

arXiv · 1812.10419

Use of Digital Image Correlation to study the effect of temperature on the development of plastic instabilities in a semi-crystalline polymer

Abstract

The plastic deformation processes that occur in a tensily deformed High Density Polyethylene specimen were studied from full-field strain and strain rate measurements obtained by 3D DIC (Digital Image Correlation).The tensile tests were performed every 10{\textdegree}C from room temperature to 120{\textdegree}C . For temperatures below 60{\textdegree}C , it is shown that the strain localization effect becomes less pronounced when the temperature increases. For temperatures higher than 60{\textdegree}C , the material is found to exhibit double yielding behavior. By analyzing the DIC data in Lagrangian representation, it was possible to quantitatively highlight the strain localization effect that is specifically associated with the second yield. The second yield strain (E_{Y_2}) was measured and appeared to be independent of temperature. For temperatures smaller than 60{\textdegree}C , it was found that the threshold strain corresponding to (E_{Y_2}) also marks the onset of the deformation process phase during which the volume strain strongly increases. Based on previous studies of our research team and on literature we concluded that the critical strain (E_{Y_2}) corresponds to the onset of the lamellar morphology destruction. At high strain levels, the neck stabilization phase was shown to proceed according to a strain driven scheme characterized by threshold strains that are temperature independent. The experimental values of the threshold strain marking the onset of the stabilization phase are found to be in good agreement with those found using the Haward-Thackray model.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

BibTeXRIS

Laurent Farge, Stéphane André, Julien Boisse. 2018-11-30. Use of Digital Image Correlation to study the effect of temperature on the development of plastic instabilities in a semi-crystalline polymer. https://arxiv.org/abs/1812.10419

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Slow Dynamics and the Geometry of Jammed Packings

Saddle points in the energy landscape of granular packings dominate the discrete steepest descent dynamics and ultimately determine the path that an out of mechanical equilibrium packing will follow and the resulting stable minimum that it will find. The saddle points that ultimately determine the resulting minima tend to be low-index saddle points. For models with an analytic energy landscape, such as the $p$-spin model, the steepest descent minimization path is affected by higher-index saddle points, which pull the system towards saddle points of decreasing index before arriving at the minima. Here, we examine the steepest descent minimization path of granular packings and compare them to the $p$-spin model. We show that the granular packing steepest descent minimization paths act like their smooth energy landscape counterparts and get attracted by saddle points. The index versus time curves for all models follow a shifted, stretched exponential. We further show that the shape parameter for the granular packings is unchanged when the energy landscape is modified to become analytic (Gaussian potential in a harmonic well) or non-local (Mari-Krzakala-Kurchan). The $p$-spin, on the other hand, has a significantly larger shape parameter. The reason is not due to the dimensionality, packing fraction, nonanalyticity, or the locality of the Hamiltonian of the models. The exact reason for the discrepancy in the shape parameter is \st{still} an unsolved mystery.

cond-mat.soft

A Phase-Field Study of Desiccation Crack Pattern Maturation under Drying-Wetting Cycles

The characteristic intersection angle of the desiccation crack relaxes from near \ang{90} toward \ang{120} under repeated drying--wetting cycles. However, the theoretical understanding of this relaxation is insufficient, especially the modeling of the drying--wetting cycles. Here we introduce a phase-field model of desiccation fracture, extending the model proposed in previous studies by adding crack healing and a scar effect left by past cracks. By repeating drying--wetting cycles in a finite element simulation, we find that the angle distribution develops a growing peak near \ang{120} as the cycle number increases, consistent with experiments. The standard deviation of the intersection angle from \ang{120} relaxes exponentially with a characteristic time of about 2.85 cycles. These results are consistent with experiments, except that the characteristic time is slightly smaller than the experimental value. Crack energy dominates the total energy and also relaxes exponentially with nearly the same characteristic cycle as the angle relaxation. This decay is driven mainly by a shortening of the effective crack length rather than a change in effective fracture toughness.

cond-mat.soft

Kinetics of ferritin crystal formation and melting in acoustically levitated droplets

Understanding protein crystallization pathways is essential for controlling crystallization in structural biology, materials science, and pharmaceutical applications. Classical nucleation theory does not fully capture crystallization processes for several proteins, including ferritin. Here, we combine acoustic levitation with small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS and WAXS) to monitor ferritin crystallization in evaporating aqueous polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions. Acoustic levitation rapidly drives the droplets through a broad range of protein and polymer concentrations, enabling time-resolved measurements of crystallization during evaporation. The scattering data show that ferritin crystals form during evaporation and subsequently lose their crystalline order upon further dehydration. Varying the PEG molecular weight switches between distinct crystallization pathways: one dominated by attractive protein-protein interactions and another dominated by repulsive interactions and excluded-volume effects. Furthermore, we find that lower molecular weight PEG (1000 g/mol) suppresses the dehydration-induced loss of crystalline order observed for higher molecular weight PEG (6000 g/mol), providing a simple strategy for improving protein crystal stability.

cond-mat.soft