2008 Volume 57 Issue 4 Pages 374-379
The fracture behavior of a brittle polymer, polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA) resin, under static and impact tensile loadings was studied using single-edge-cracked specimens. The impact load and displacement were measured with a Piezo sensor and a high-speed extensometer, respectively. The load and displacement diagram, i.e., the external work Uex applied to the specimen was used to determine the elastic energy Ee and non-elastic energy En due to viscoelastic and plastic deformation, and the fracture energy Ef for creating new fracture surface As. The energy-release rate was then estimated using Gf = Ef/As. The values of Ee, En, Ef and Gf were correlated with the fracture loads, and the two results determined for the static and impact loadings were compared to study the effect of loading conditions.
