Abstract
The fracture behaviour of a polyetherimide (PEI) thermoplastic polymer was studied using compact tension (CT) specimens with a special emphasis on effects of specimen thickness and testing temperatures on the plane strain fracture toughness. The results show that the valid fracture toughness of the critical stress intensity factor, K IC, and strain energy release rate, G IC, is independent of the specimen thickness when it is larger than 5 mm at ambient temperature. On the other hand, the fracture toughness is relatively sensitive to testing temperatures. The K IC value remains almost constant, 3.5 MPa\(\sqrt {\text{m}} \) in a temperature range from 25 to 130°C, but the G IC value slightly increases due to the decrease in Young's modulus and yield stress with increasing temperature. The temperature dependence of the fracture toughness, G IC, was explained in terms of a plastic deformation zone around the crack tip and fracture surface morphology. It was identified that the larger plastic zone and extensive plastic deformation in the crack initiation region were associated with the enhanced G IC at elevated temperatures.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
“ASTM D 5045-99 Standard Test Methods for Plane-Strain Fracture Toughness and Strain Energy Release Rate of Plastic Materials” (American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 1999).
S. Hashemi and J. G. Williams, J. Mater. Sci. 19 (1984) 3746.
S. Y. Hobbs and R. C. Bopp, Polymer 21 (1980) 559.
A. J. Kinloch and R. J. Young, in “Fracture Behaviour of Polymers” (Elsevier, London, 1983) p. 26.
“ASTM D 638–99 Standard Test Methods for Tensile Properties of Plastics” (American Society of Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, 1999).
K. N. Knapp II, G. A. Gabriele and D. Lee, ANTEC'97 (1997) 1198.
K. Xiao, L. Ye and Y. S. Kwok, J. Mater. Sci. 33 (1998) 2831.
in “The Effect of Temperature and Other Factors on Plastics” (Plastics Design Library, New York, 1990) p. 275.
W. Brostow and R. D. Corneliussen, in “Failure of Plastics” (Hanser Publisher, Munich, 1986) p. 98.
L. Engel, “An Atlas of Polymer Damage: Surface Examination by Scanning Electron Microscope” (Wolfe Science, 1981) p.
L. Ye, C. T. Yuan and Y. W. Mai, Polym. Compos. 19 (1998) 830.
H. R. Brown, J. Mater. Sci. 17 (1982) 469.
F.-C. Chang and W.-B. Liu, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 44 (1992) 1615.
L. H. Lee, J. F. Mandell and F. J. Mcgarry, Polym. Eng. Sci. 27 (1987) 1128.
D. Hull and T. W. Owen, J. Polym. Sci., Polym. Phy. Ed. 11 (1973) 2039.
C. M. Agrawal and G. W. Pearsall, J. Mater. Sci. 26 (1991) 1919.
G. W. Powell, “Failure Analysis and Prevention,” Vol. 11 (American Society for Metals, Metals Park, OH, USA, 1990) p. 75.
M. G. A. Tijssens, E. Van Der Giessen and L. J. Sluys, Int. J. Solids Struct. 37 (2000) 7307.
B. W. Smith and R. A. Grove, ASTM STP 948 (1987) 68.
W. Doll and L. Konczol, Adv. Polym. Sci. 91/92 (1991) 138.
M. K. V. Chan and J. G. Williams, Polym. Eng. Sci. 21 (1981) 1019.
M. Parvin and J. G. Williams, J. Mater. Sci. 10 (1975) 1883.
P. J. Hine, R. A. Duckett and I. M. Ward, Polymer 22 (1981) 1745.
R. Frassine and A. Pavan, Compos. Sci. Technol. 54 (1995) 193.
A. G. Atkins, C. S. Lee and R. M. Caddell, J. Mater. Sci. 10 (1975) 1381.
G. P. Marshall, L. H. Coutts and J. G. Williams, ibid. 9 (1974) 1409.
K. Mizutani, J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 6 (1987) 915.
Y. Han, Y. Yang, B. Li and Z. Feng, J. Mater. Sci. 30 (1995) 3658.
R. Nimmer, in “Engineered Materials Handbook,” Vol. 2, Engineering Plastics (ASM International, Metal Park, Ohio, 1988) p. 679.
A. T. Dibenedetto and K. L. Trachte, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 14 (1970) 2249.
K. Friedich, L. A. Carlsson, J. W. Gillespie, Jr. and J. Karger-Kocsis, “Thermoplastic Composite Materials” (Elsevier Science Publisher, Amsterdam, 1991) p. 233.
D. R. Moore, Polym. Testing 5 (1985) 255.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kim, KY., Ye, L. Effects of thickness and environmental temperature on fracture behaviour of polyetherimide (PEI). Journal of Materials Science 39, 1267–1276 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JMSC.0000013885.27372.fd
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JMSC.0000013885.27372.fd