Stress-induced densification of glassy polymers in the subyield region

✍ Scribed by Aleksey D. Drozdov

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 224 KB
• Volume: 74
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19991114)74:7<1705::aid-app14>3.0.co;2-4

✦ Synopsis

Constitutive equations are derived for the viscoelastic response of amorphous glassy polymers in the region of subyield deformations. The model treats an amorphous polymer as a composite material consisting of an ensemble of flow units, immobile holes, and clusters of interstitial free volume moving through a network of long chains to and from voids. Changes in macropressure lead to an increase in the equilibrium concentration of interstitial free volume that, in turn, induces diffusion of free-volume elements from holes. The mass flow results in dissolution of voids that is observed as time-dependent densification of a glassy polymer. It is demonstrated that the model correctly predicts stress relaxation and a decrease in the specific volume observed in uniaxial tensile and compressive tests on polycarbonate at room temperature.