Necking and drawing in polymeric fibers under tension (Q791340)

The response of a taut straight fiber is usually modelled by a function relating average stretch in each cross-section to the force transmitted. However, when the cross-section varies rapidly along the length of the fiber (as occurs, e.g., in necking) a non-local response seems more adequate (a non-local model for the response in a rod was proposed already by Kirchhoff in a different context). Certain theorems of the author allow one to approximate effectively a general non-local response by a local constitutive law involving derivatives of the stretch. Then the adaptation of results obtained by \textit{E. D. Aifantis} and \textit{J. B. Serrin} [Towards a mechanical theory of phase transformation. Techn. Rep., Corrosion Res. Center, Univ. Minnesota, Minneapolis (1980)] to the balance equation of the fiber under tension lead to a thorough and very interesting discussion of the possible occurrence of necking. - (Similar analytic tools were used by the reviewer in a discussion of solitary waves in strings.)