On neck propagation in amorphous glassy polymers under plane strain tension (Q1890861)

The model of plastic flow considers the intermolecular resistance due to segment rotation and the anisotropic resistance due to molecular alignment. This model considered by different authors leads to a tensorial formulation of constitutive equations. The analysis is developed for a tensile plane test specimen which includes both necking regions and grip sections, being characterized by a transition law between them described by a transcendent relation. Initial imperfections are also considered. Taking into account numerical values for model parameters, the authors obtain diagrams (stress/necking ratio-strain) which emphasize the influence of initial imperfections, strain, softening, orientation hardening, strain rate, geometry and boundary conditions. The predicted results pick up four succesive stages of the force elongation process. Besides the previously obtained conclusions that the intrinsic softening is due to the driving force which promotes initiation of shear band and its propagation, whereas the orientation hardening is due to the driving force for widening the shear band, the present results show that the orientation hardening is due to the driving force which promotes neck propagation. A maximum due to apparent softening in the stress-elongation diagram is necessary and sufficient for initiation of necking. Other observations concern the use of affine network theory, and the effects of thermomechanical coupling and localizations. The paper includes also some additional results based on plotted deformation meshes and diagrams.