Deformation And Fracture Of High Polymers

This book gives an overview of recent advances in the fracture mechanics of polymers, morphology property correlations, hybrid methods for polymer testing and polymer diagnostics, and biocompatible materials and medical prostheses, as well as application examples and limits.

This book covers the most recent advances in the deformation and fracture behaviour of polymer material. It provides deeper insight into related morphology–property correlations of thermoplastics, elastomers and polymer resins. Each chapter of this book gives a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art methods of materials testing and diagnostics, tailored for plastic pipes, films and adhesive systems as well as elastomeric components and others. The investigation of deformation and fracture behaviour using the experimental methods of fracture mechanics has been the subject of intense research during the last decade. In a systematic manner, modern aspects of fracture mechanics in the industrial application of polymers for bridging basic research and industrial development are illustrated by multifarious examples of innovative materials usage. This book will be of value to scientists, engineers and in polymer materials science.

Demonstrating through examples, this book presents a mechanism-based perspective on the broad range of deformation and fracture response of solid polymers. It draws on the results of probing experiments and considers the similar mechanical responses of amorphous metals and inorganic compounds to develop advanced methodology for generating more precise forms of modelling. This, in turn, provides a better fundamental understanding of deformation and fracture phenomena in solid polymers. Such mechanism-based constitutive response forms have far-reaching application potential in the prediction of structural responses and in tailoring special microstructures for tough behaviour. Moreover, they can guide the development of computational codes for deformation processing of polymers at any level. Applications are wide-ranging, from large strain industrial deformation texturing to production of precision micro-fluidic devices, making this book of interest to both advanced graduate students and to practising professionals.

This book on "Polymer Fracture" might as well have been called "Kinetic Theory of Polymer Fracture". The term "kinetic theory", however, needs some de finition or, at least, some explanation. A kinetic theory deals with and particu larly considers the effect of the existence and discrete size, of the motion and of the physical properties of molecules on the macroscopic behavior of an ensemble, gaseous or other. A kinetic theory of strength does have to consider additional aspects such as elastic and anelastic deformations, chemical and physical reactions, and the sequence and distribution of different disintegration steps. In the last fifteen years considerable progress has been made in the latter do mains. The deformation and rupture of molecular chains, crystals, and morphologi cal structures have been intensively investigated. The understanding of the effect of those processes on the strength of polymeric materials has especially been furthered by the development and application of spectroscopical methods (ESR, IR) and of the tools offracture mechanics. It is the aim of this book to relate the conventional and successful statistical, parametrical, and continuum mechanical treatment of fracture phenomena to new results on the behavior of highly stressed molecular chains.