This monograph is an updated and extended edition of Strength and Fracture of Polymer Films, which was published in Russian in 1999. It presents the results of long-term theoretical and experimental studies of brittle and quasi-brittle fracture of solid polymers. The principal results of a comprehensive and detailed investigation of the statistical features of polymer fracture under various conditions — including temperature, mechanical stresses, surface-active media, UV- and gamma- irradiation, chemical admixtures, thermal modification, and orientational drawing — are presented. A key feature of this study is the finding of the two principal strength states: the low-strength state of bulk samples, and the high-strength state of thin films and fibers. The distinction between the modes of fracture of these two states is discussed in detail.

From the Foreword: “...The approach to studying the fracture of polymers allows one to clarify the physical meaning of the Griffith criterion, to prove the absence of any safe stress, to investigate into the mechanism of fracture at low stresses (below the Griffith threshold), to ascertain the asymptotics of mean lifetime, and to establish the correlation between mean lifetime and the corresponding mean-square deviation...The results presented in this book show that...a key role is attributed to the existence of a set of defects with different sizes and thermal relaxation processes taking place in such defects. This approach allows one to solve a long-lasting discussion of many scientists concerning the reasons of a marked scatter in the experimental data...”

Target Audience: Academic and industrial scientists and researchers concerned with the strength properties of fibers and thin polymer films; also upper-level students of this field.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Strength and Fracture of Polymers

Structural Discreteness and Defects of Polymers

Methods of the Investigation of Fracture and Calculation of Strength of Polymers

Strength States of Polymers

Strength and Fracture of the Bulk Polymer Materials

Discrete Strength Spectrum and Fracture of Polymer Fibers

Discrete Strength Spectrum and Fracture of Thin Polymer Films

Discrete Spectra and Correlation Between Fracture Mechanisms of Polymers

Discrete Strength Spectrum and Correlation Between Fracture and Electrophysical Properties

Discrete Strength Levels, Thermofluctuation, Relaxation, and Statistical Nature of Scatter in Experimental Data

Prediction, Stabilization, and Modification of Service Properties from Discrete Strength Spectrum and Relaxation Spectrometry

References