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Optical and mechanical properties of birefringent polymers

Investigation is concerned with the determination of the suitability of several substances for studies in dynamic photo-visco-elasto plasticity, and the delineation of the optical and mechanical characteristics of the most promising of these at low strain rates

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Abstract

The stress-strain behavior and corresponding birefringence of several polymers have been investigated within a limited range of temperatures (from −65 to 70°F) and strain rates (from 0.0027 to 0.1613 sec−1). One of these materials, a polyethylene resin, has been studied in more detail to ascertain the existence of a simple relationship between stress history, temperature, strain rate and birefringence. When the results were compared with the photoviscoelastic relations developed by E. H. Dill for a simple rheological material, it was concluded that the polyethylene tested does not completely satisfy this model. Polyethylene as well as the other materials investigated—nylon, a polyester, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose nitrate—exhibits a linear relation between birefringence and strain, independent of rate within the limits of the present experimental range.

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Abbreviations

b :

specimen thickness, in

K ij :

dielectric tensor

N ij :

refraction tensor

n ij :

deviatoric component ofN ij

S ij :

stress tensor

s ij :

deviatoric component ofS ij

t :

time, sec

Δ:

birefringence index

\(\dot \in \) :

strain rate, sec−1

σ x :

stress component, psi

ψ:

optical creep function, fringes/psi

References

  1. Personal Communication from Dr. R. F. Landell, California Instutute of Technology, Pasadena.

  2. Dill, E. H., “On the Phenomenological Rheo-Optic Constitutive Relations,”Jnl. Poly. Sci., Pt. C, 5, 67 (1964).

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  3. Dill, E. H., “A Theory for Photoviscoelasticity,” in Proc. 4th Internat. Cong. on Rheology, N. Y. (1964).

  4. Williams, M. V., and Arnez, J., “The Engineering Analysis of Linear Photoviscoelastic Materials,” Experimental Mechanics,4 (9) (1964)

  5. Dill, E. H., and Fowlkes, C., “Photoviscoelastic Experiments, I,”Trend in Engineering,University of Washington,16 (3) (1964).

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Authors
  1. C. V. Johnson III
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  2. W. Goldsmith
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Additional information

C. V. Johnson, III was formerly a Research Assistant, University of California, Berkeley; currently, he is a Mechanical Engineer, Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, Calif. W. Goldsmith is Professor of Applied Mechanics, University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

Paper is abstracted from a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for MS degree, University of California, Berkeley. Work was performed in part under the auspices of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission, and in part under the U. S. Army Office of Research, Durham, N. C.

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Johnson, C.V., Goldsmith, W. Optical and mechanical properties of birefringent polymers. Experimental Mechanics 9, 263–268 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02325158

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02325158

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