Measuring the Deformation of Both Ductile and Fragile Polymers

2 Measuring the Deformation of Both Ductile and Fragile Polymers 

It is of great interest to investigate the evolution of submicron-scale local mechanical properties of polymers under deformation for the better understanding of deformation mechanisms, while AFM nanomechanics might be a good solution for this purpose. Here, submicron-scale mechanical 

Contrary to the uniform distribution of the neat sample, the topography of the lateral section of necking part 

The story is different in the case of PLA, where fractures happen just after the yielding. When PLA is under uniaxial deformation, the delocalization of polymer chains is induced by weakening the structure perpendicular to the loading direction, which gives rise to small crazes. The crazes tend to emerge in the adjacent positions and leave large spaces 

---