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Thesis (M. S.)--Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Colton, Jonathan; Committee Member: Ku, David; Committee Member: Prausnitz, Mark. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

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The purpose of this thesis was to study the tensile-stress versus strain characteristics of vinyl plastic at various temperatures as a function of strain rate.

As new materials are developed, it is essential to study their mechanical properties experimentally. It is easy to find properties like ultimate strength, yield strength, hardness, etc., using standard techniques. It is not possible to observe the tensile behavior of materials at high strain rates using standard equipment. Plastics are often subjected to tensile loads at various rates of loading, such as when they are used to absorb impact.

The primary objective of this study is to test the applicability to plastics of a fracture toughness testing tool developed for metals. The intent is to study pre-test conditioning of several plastic materials and the effect of the depth of the razor notch cut in the chevron notched fracture toughness test specimens. The study includes the careful preparation of samples followed by conditioning in various environments. Samples were subjected to laboratory air for a specific duration or to a controlled temperature-humidity condition as per the ASTM D1870. Some of the samples were subjected to vacuum conditioning under standard test specifications. Testing was conducted using the conventional three-point bend test as per ASTM D5045-95. ASTM E1304, which sets a standard for short rod and bar testing of metals and ceramics provides some basis for conducting chevron notched four-point bend tests to duplicate the toughness tool. Correlation of these results with the ASTM test samples is determined. The four-point bend test involves less specimen machining as well as time to perform the fracture toughness tests. This study of fracture toughness testing has potential for quality control as well as the fracture property determination.

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