Thermal Effects in the Fracture of Rubber-Modified Polystyrene

摘要

We describe an experimental procedure aimed at examining the spatial and temporal distribution of energy dissipation during crack initiation and propagation in a ductile polymer of high impact polystyrene. The experiment combines a table-top tensile tester and an infrared imaging system. Because of the intense heating of the crack tip region, direct observation of the temperature rise not only provides an accurate measurement of the position of the crack tip, and thus the propagation velocity, but also much information for the analysis of plastic deformation, energy conversion, and evaluation of thermal properties of polymer materials.