Damage induced constitutive response of a thermoplastic related to composites and adhesive bonding

Abstract

This paper addresses the volume averaged constitutive behavior of a polymer sustaining void growth under dilational deformation. Polyvinylacetate is deformed between two aluminum beams in a double cantilever geometry and the deformations, recorded with the aid of optical interferometry, are used to deduce the stress-strain behavior of the material as it passes from small strain behavior through the voiding process to near-failure under exclusion of rate-sensitivity considerations. Observations regarding failure in composites where high spatial constraint limits the development of volume controlled failure processes are included, as well as remarks relevant to computational efforts delineating the effect of void development in plastically deforming solids.