The effect of the notch sharpening on the fracture toughness obtained under linear elastic fracture mechanics has been analyzed in an amorphous polycarbonate. The samples for fracture characterization were sharpened via the traditional contact steel razor blade technique and the noncontact femtosecond laser ablation technique. The values of the fracture toughness of the specimens sharpened through femtosecond laser ablation were lower than those measured on samples sharpened using a steel razor blade. Moreover, the former was in plane strain state, but the latter did not verify the size criterion. The damage produced ahead of the crack tip through plastic deformation in the steel razor blade sharpened samples over the lack of damage in the femtolaser sharpened specimens explains the differences in the fracture toughness. It has been proven that there is a relationship between the plastic deformation at the crack front and the stress state. This has been assessed through the application of a fracture criterion for dissipative systems with small scale yielding.
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