Statistical properties of microcracking in polyurethane foams under tensile test, influence of temperature and density

We report tensile failure experiments on polyurethane (PU) foams. Experiments have been performed by imposing a constant strain rate. We work on heterogeneous materials for whom the failure does not occur suddenly and can develop as a multistep process through a succession of microcracks that end at...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of fracture 2006-07, Vol.140 (1-4), p.87-98
Main Authors: DESCHANEL, S, VANEL, L, VIGIER, G, GODIN, N, CILIBERTO, S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustics
Condensed Matter
Crack initiation
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Density
Divergence
Exact sciences and technology
Experiments
Failure
Foams
Fracture mechanics
Fracture mechanics (crack, fatigue, damage...)
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Materials Science
Materials testing
Mechanics
Mechanics of materials
Microcracks
Physics
Plastic foam
Plutonium
Polyurethane foam
Power law
Solid mechanics
Strain rate
Structural and continuum mechanics
Tensile tests
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Summary:We report tensile failure experiments on polyurethane (PU) foams. Experiments have been performed by imposing a constant strain rate. We work on heterogeneous materials for whom the failure does not occur suddenly and can develop as a multistep process through a succession of microcracks that end at pores. The acoustic energy and the waiting times between acoustic events follow power-law distributions. This remains true while the foam density is varied. However, experiments at low temperatures (PU foams more brittle) have not yielded power-laws for the waiting times. The cumulative acoustic energy has no power-law divergence at the proximity of the failure point which is qualitatively in agreement with other experiments done at imposed strain. We notice a plateau in cumulative acoustic energy that seems to occur when a single crack starts to propagate.
ISSN:0376-9429
1573-2673
DOI:10.1007/s10704-006-0051-1