Delocalization of Shear Banding

The explanation of the effect of secondary inclusions on the delocalization of shear banding is based on the concept of modification of the local stress fields and achieving favorable distribution of stress concentrations in the matrix due to presence of inclusions. This leads to a reduction in the external load needed to initiate plastic deformation over a large volume of the polymer. As a result, plastically deformed matter is formed at the crack tip effectively reducing the crack driving force. Above approximately 20 vol% of the elastomer inclusions. 

Since an understanding of the importance of any one process contributing to the failure in thermoplastics and the control over these processes is only partly attainable, a knowledge and understanding of the nature of endurance Hmits is of extreme importance for successful use of plastics, in particular engineered thermoplastics [27]. In terms of the failure type, polymer fracture may occur as a rapid extension of an initial defect, plastic flow of the matter and the thermally activated flow of the macromolecules. In all these cases, however, fracture is a localized phenomenon characterized by a large inhomogeneity of deformations. 

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The explanation of the effect of secondary component on the spreading of shear yielding (i.e., delocalization of shear banding) is based on a concept of local stress fields and stress concentrations in the matrix due to the presence of inclusions. This leads to a reduction of the external load needed to plastically deform the material. The original Goodier s solution (7) for an isolated particle in an isotropic matrix resulted in a maximum stress concentration of about 1.9 at the equator of the inclusion (8). It should be borne in mind that this solution... 

Delocalization of Shear Banding at Particles with Interphases... 

As discussed in Chapter 6, delocalization of shear banding is a desirable process capable of enhancing crack resistance of these thermoplastics. It can be achieved in many otherwise brittle polymers by incorporating a uniformly dispersed secondary discontinuous component. This approach has been shown to be especially effective when the elastic modulus of the dispersed inclusions is substantially lower than that of the matrix. 

The mechanism how a rubber distributed in a network influences the rupture mechanism is not quite well understood yet. It is known that poly(vinyl chloride) forms shear bands when stress is applied and that parts of the rubber which are located in these shear bands may form crazes.13 It might well be that a network structure is efficient for the delocalization of stress energy only in combination with the formation of shear bands. Experimental work is needed to elucidate this further. 

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