Digital Repository, Youth Symposium on Experimental Solid Mechanics

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The use of thermoelasticity and photoelasticity to investigate the mechanical properties of polymeric materials
A. Sciuccati

Last modified: 2010-09-06

Abstract


A study of the damage evolution of a polymer (polycarbonate) during a quasi-static tensile test was performed. The thermographic and photoelastic nondestructive techniques are used to detect and quantify the damage of polymer specimens. The thermographic technique, carried out by a termocamera, allows to detect and quantify the temperature variations, which are related to the stress values and damage of the material. Exploiting the birefringence characteristic of polycarbonate, a photoelastic analysis was carried out to analyze the stress distribution in the necking area of the specimen. A circular polariscope with monochromatic light was utilized in order to detect the isochromatic field. The results obtained by the photoelastic study were compared with the thermographic data and a correlation model is proposed. Besides, finite element analyses were carried out with the aim of comparing the stress distribution observed by the photoelastic and thermographic analyses.