5 Werkstofftechnik
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- Environmental stress cracking (ESC) (2) (entfernen)
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Different imaging techniques were employed to monitor Full Notch Creep Test (FNCT) experiments addressing environmental stress cracking in more detail. The FNCT is a well-established test method to assess slow crack growth and environmental stress cracking of polymer materials, especially polyethylene. The standard test procedure, as specified in ISO 16770, provides a simple comparative measure of the resistance to crack growth of a certain material based on the overall time to failure when loaded with a well-defined mechanical stress and immersed in a liquid medium promoting crack propagation.
Destructive techniques which require a direct view on the free fracture surface, such as light microscopy and laser scanning microscopy, are compared to non-destructive techniques, i.e. scanning acoustic microscopy and xray micro computed tomography. All methods allow the determination of an effective crack length. Based on a series of FNCT specimens progressively damaged for varied Durations under standard test conditions, the estimation of crack propagation rates is also enabled. Despite systematic deviations related to the respective Imaging techniques, this nevertheless provides a valuable tool for the detailed evaluation of the FNCT and its further development.
A phenomenological criterion for an optical assessment of PE-HD fracture surfaces obtained from FNCT
(2021)
The full-notch creep test (FNCT) is a common test method to evaluate the environmental stress cracking (ESC) behavior of high-density polyethylene (PE-HD), e.g. for container materials. The test procedure as specified in ISO 16770 provides a comparative measure of the resistance against ESC using the time to failure of PE-HD specimens under constant mechanical load in a well-defined liquid test environment. Since the craze-crack damage mechanism underlying the ESC phenomenon is associated with brittle failure, the occurrence of a predominantly brittle fracture surface is a prerequisite to consider an FNCT measurement as representative for ESC, i.e. a time to failure dominated by craze-crack propagation.
The craze-crack propagation continuously reduces the effective residual cross-sectional area of the specimen during the test, which results in a corresponding increase of the effective mechanical stress. Thus, a transition to ductile shear deformation is inevitable at later stages of the test, leading usually to a pronounced central ligament.
Therefore, an optical evaluation of FNCT fracture surfaces concerning their brittleness is essential. An enhanced imaging analysis of FNCT fracture surfaces enables a detailed assessment of craze-crack Propagation during ESC. In this study, laser scanning microscopy (LSM) was employed to evaluate whether FNCT fracture surfaces are representative with respect to craze-crack propagation and ESC. Based on LSM height data, a phenomenological criterion is proposed to assess the validity of distinct FNCT measurements. This criterion is
supposed to facilitate a quick evaluation of FNCT results in practical routine testing. Its applicability is verified on a sample basis for seven different commercial PE-HD container materials.