Progressive damage and rupture in polymers

TL;DR

This paper develops a phase-field model for progressive damage and rupture in elastomeric polymers, incorporating both entropic and energetic contributions to accurately predict failure under large deformations.

Contribution

It extends the phase-field method to elastomers, accounting for bond deformation energy, a novel approach for modeling damage in large-deformation polymers.

Findings

The model captures progressive damage leading to rupture in elastomers.

Inclusion of bond deformation energy improves damage prediction accuracy.

The theory provides a framework for understanding failure mechanisms in polymers.

Abstract

Progressive damage, which eventually leads to failure, is ubiquitous in biological and synthetic polymers. The simplest case to consider is that of elastomeric materials, which can undergo large reversible deformations with negligible rate dependence. In this paper, we develop a theory for modeling progressive damage and rupture of such materials. We extend the phase-field method, which is widely used to describe the damage and fracture of brittle materials, to elastomeric materials undergoing large deformations. A central feature of our theory is the recognition that the free energy of elastomers is not entirely entropic in nature---there is also an energetic contribution from the deformation of the bonds in the chains. It is the energetic part in the free energy which is the driving force for progressive damage and fracture.