Premium
Lifetime Assessment of Load‐Bearing Polymer Glasses: An Analytical Framework for Ductile Failure
Author(s) -
Visser Hendrikus A.,
Bor Ton C.,
Wolters Mannes,
Engels Tom A. P.,
Govaert Leon E.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.200900369
Subject(s) - materials science , polymer , deformation (meteorology) , load bearing , failure assessment , composite material , bearing (navigation) , plasticity , term (time) , computer science , fracture mechanics , physics , quantum mechanics , artificial intelligence
Abstract The most widespread application of polymers in structural applications is their use as pipe material for e.g., gas distribution systems. Pipes have a design lifetime of typically 50 years, which rules out real‐time lifetime assessment methods. Here, an engineering approach is presented, which makes it possible to predict long‐term ductile failure of loaded glassy polymers based on short‐term tests. The approach is based upon the hypothesis that failure is governed by accumulation of plastic deformation up to a critical strain. A pressure‐modified Eyring relation is employed to calculate the accumulation of plastic strain for any simple loading geometry. It is demonstrated that the approach can produce accurate quantitative time‐to‐failure predictions for loaded PC specimens and uPVC pipe segments.