Lecture 5

Mechanical Properties of Polymers

PE-301

Dr Atif Javaid
atifjavaid@uet.edu.pk
Department of Polymer & Process Engineering ,
University of Engineering & Technology, Lahore
19th September, 2019
Outline
 Stress Strain Diagram
 Stress in 3 dimension
 Stress Strain Diagram
ultimate
tensile
strength 3 necking
 UTS
Strain
yield 2 Hardening Fracture
strength
at 0.2% Plastic Region 5
0ffset Non-Uniform
y
Plastic Region Elastic region
Homogeneous slope =Young’s (elastic) modulus
yield strength
Plastic region
ultimate tensile strength
Elastic
strain hardening
σ Eε Region fracture
4
σ 1
E σy
ε E Strain ( e) (DL/Lo)
ε 2  ε1
 Stress Strain Diagram cont’d

• Elastic Region (Point 1 –2)

• Material will return to its original shape after the material is
unloaded (like a rubber band).
• Stress is linearly proportional to the strain in this region.

σ
σ Eε or E
ε
σ : Stress(psi)
E : Elastic modulus (Young’s Modulus) (psi)
ε : Strain (in/in)
- Point 2 : Yield Strength: A point where permanent deformation occurs. (If
passed, the material will no longer return to its original length.)
 Stress Strain Diagram cont’d

• Strain Hardening
- If the material is loaded again from Point 4, the
curve will follow back to Point 3 with the same
Elastic Modulus (slope).
- The material now has a higher yield strength of
Point 4.
- Raising the yield strength by permanently straining
the material is called Strain Hardening.
 Stress Strain Diagram cont’d

• Tensile Strength (Point 3)

- The largest value of stress on the diagram is called
Tensile Strength (TS) or Ultimate Tensile Strength
(UTS)
- It is the maximum stress which the material can
support without breaking.
• Fracture (Point 5)
- If the material is stretched beyond Point 3, the stress
decreases as necking and non-uniform deformation
occur.
- Fracture will finally occur at Point 5.
Tensile Properties of various materials Ref: htttp://mehr.sharif.ir/~amirkhani/textbook/t0702.pdf
 Tensile Strength
• After elastic region, the stress continue to
increase in plastic deformation and reaches
to a maximum point (M) and then decreases
to the eventual fracture point (F).
• All deformation up to the maximum stress M

is uniform throughout the tensile sample. F

• However, at max stress, a small constriction

or neck begins to form.
• Subsequent deformation will be confined
to this neck area.
• Fracture strength corresponds to the stress
at fracture. Ref: Schultz, J.M., “Polymer Materials
Science”, Prentice-Hall, 1974.
Region between M and F:
• Metals: occurs when noticeable necking starts.
• Ceramics: occurs when crack propagation starts.
• Polymers: occurs when polymer backbones are aligned and about to break.
Tensile Response: Brittle & Plastic
 Tensile Response: Brittle & Plastic
 (MPa) fibrillar
Near Failure structure
x brittle failure
near
onset of
plastic failure failure
necking
x
Initial

unload/reload

e
aligned, networked
cross- case crystalline
linked regions
case slide
semi-
crystalline amorphous
crystalline
case regions
regions align
elongate
In an un-deformed
thermoplastic polymer
tensile sample,
(a)the polymer chains are
randomly oriented.
(b)When a stress is
applied, a neck
develops as chains
become aligned locally.
The neck continues to
grow until the chains in
the entire gauge length
have aligned.
(c)The strength of the
polymer is increased
 Predeformation by Drawing
• Drawing
-- stretches the polymer prior to use
-- aligns chains in the stretching direction
• Results of drawing:
-- increases the elastic modulus (E) in the
stretching direction
-- increases the tensile strength (TS) in the
stretching direction
-- decreases ductility (%EL)
• Annealing after drawing...
-- decreases alignment
-- reverses effects of drawing.
• Compare to cold working in metals!
 Tensile Response: Elastomer
(MPa)
x brittle failure

plastic failure
x
x
elastomer
final: chains
e are straight,
still
cross-linked
initial: amorphous chains, Deformation
cross-linked. is reversible!

• Compare to responses of other polymers:

-- brittle response (aligned, crosslinked & networked polymer)
-- plastic response (semi-crystalline polymers)
Tensile Strength - Comparison

Room T values

Based on data in Table B4,

Callister 6e.
a = annealed
hr = hot rolled
ag = aged
cd = cold drawn
cw = cold worked
qt = quenched & tempered
AFRE, GFRE, & CFRE =
aramid, glass, & carbon
fiber-reinforced epoxy
composites, with 60 vol%
fibers.
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
𝐹
=
𝐴𝑖  Only valid in 1-D for thin
specimen being pulled or
pushed along its length e.g.
F2 cables, connecting rods etc
 During bending, twisting,
shearing, this stress definition
no longer valid
F1  Complex shape
 Complex body
 Different forces acting on body in different
direction;
 Loading in different direction
 What are stresses acting on body?
 Stress would not be uniform
 Stress will be different in different direction
F3
 Defining state of stress at a point which
typically vary with position of body
Stress, Strain in 3-D
F2

F1

F3
 Stress would not be uniform
 Stress will be different in different direction
 Defining state of stress at a point which
typically vary with position of body
 Stress = σ = f (X)
where x refers the position vector (3 dimensional) of body
in space
 Defining Stress in 3D body
Defining state of stress at a point in a body
 Two fundamental types of stress
Normal Stress
Shear Stress

Normal Stress
σ
 Stress acting normal / perpendicular to a plane; denoted as σ
 Normal stresses are very important in cracks
 Normal stresses (In tension) will have a large effect on
fracture
 In polymers, it will stretch molecules making it longer and
narrower as in tensile test σ
 Defining Stress in 3D body
Shear Stress 𝜏
 Stress acting parallel to a plane; denoted as τ
 To be specific, acting on the plane itself
 What is the effect of shear stress on a body? Dislocations
 Shear stresses cause dislocations to move leading to plastic deformation in
crystalline materials
𝜏

Conclusion
Normal Stresses → Fracture
Shear Stresses → Plasticity (permanent shape change exceeding yield point)
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
F2

F1

Slice from plane

F3

 Analysing small area on a plane for finding state of stress

at a point on a body;
 We can determine resultant forces acting on a body to
maintain equilibrium by resolving forces into components.
Stress, Strain in 3-D
 Resultant Force Vector
F  Free diagram approach
FN  Necessary for equilibrium
FT

What could be done with force vector?

cross sectional Resolving into components…..
Area A

 FN – Force normal to plane

 FT – Force tangential to plane

𝐹𝑁 This is the first step in developing

σ= = Normal Stress
𝐴 the stress at a point in 3
dimensional body
𝐹𝑇 = Shear Stress
τ=
𝐴
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
F
z FN
y FT

 Normal Stress could be defined in z direction

 What about for tangential direction? How shear stress could be defined?
 Resolving FT further into x and y components…
 By assigning the Cartesian coordinate system,
 We have defined three (3) components of stress on plane FY FT
𝐹𝑁 𝐹𝑍 FZ

]
= = 𝑁𝑜𝑟𝑚𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 σ FX
𝐴 𝐴
𝐹𝑋
𝐹𝑌 𝐴
Shear Stresses τ
𝐴
 Conventions for naming Stress
Stress component is named with two subscripts that indicates its nature

𝜎𝑖𝑗
Vector normal to plane of interest Direction stress acts in

𝐹𝑍 𝐹𝑁 z
FY FT
= = 𝜎zz y F
𝐴 𝐴 Z
FX

𝐹𝑋 𝐹𝑌
= 𝜎zx = 𝜎zy
𝐴 𝐴 x
Conventions of naming stress differentiates the normal and shear stresses
If i = j → normal stress component; if i≠j → shear stress
 Conventions for naming Stress
Cartesian Coordinates
Y 2
σ33
σzz
σ31
σzx
σ32
σzy X 1

Z 3

Direction of x, y , z is determined according to the right hand rule with z always

pointing upwards or downwards
Stress, Strain in 3-D

 This was all about stress in plane that was cut in z direction.
 What about for plane cut in x direction or y direction?
F2

F1

F3

F4
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
2
σ22

1
σ21

3 σ12
σ23

σ32
σ11
σ13
σ31

σ33

9 Stress Components → Write in matrix form for easing mathematical

calculations
 Stress, Strain in 3-D

𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝜎𝑥𝑦 𝜎𝑥𝑧

𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 𝜎𝑦𝑥 𝜎𝑦𝑦 𝜎𝑦𝑧
𝜎𝑧𝑥 𝜎𝑧𝑦 𝜎𝑧𝑧
σ = f (X)
stress is a function of position and its values in matrix varies with change in body
position

This is called Stress acting at a point in body

at 3 dimensional
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
Y
dz units of thickness
σyy
 Looking at small plane of cube
in xy plane σyx
 Plane is so small that stress is
not varying across thickness of dx σxy
cube
σxx dy σxx

σxy X

σyx

For equilibrium, σyy

𝐹𝑥 = 0
M= Moment= Force x distance= F.d
𝑀𝑖 = 0
 Stress, Strain in 3-D
Y
dz units of thickness
𝑀𝑧 = 0

σyx
All other stresses produce zero
moments about z axis dx σxy

dy

𝑀𝑧 = 0 X

Force due to σxy .moment arm + Force due to σyx . moment arm = 0

(σxy . dy dz) . dx + (-σyx . dx dz) . dy = 0

Similarily,
σxy = σyx
σxz = σzx ; σyz = σzy
Stress, Strain in 3-D

𝜎𝑥𝑥 𝜎𝑥𝑦 𝜎𝑥𝑧

𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 𝜎𝑥𝑦 𝜎𝑦𝑦 𝜎𝑦𝑧
𝜎𝑥𝑧 𝜎𝑦𝑧 𝜎𝑧𝑧
 6 Independent components of stress
 Stress is a 3x3 symmetric matrix

This is called state of Stress at point with

respect to Cartesian coordinates
Summary
 Stress Strain Diagram
 Stress in 3D