LOCAL BENDING OF THIN FILM ON VISCOUS LAYER

Effects of deposition layer position and number/density on local bending of a thin film are systematically investigated. Because the deposition layer interacts with the thin film at the interface and there is an offset between the thin film neutral surface and the interface, the deposition layer generates not only axial stress but also bending moment. The bending moment induces an instant out-of-plane deflection of the thin film, which may or may not cause the so-called local bending. The deposition layer is modeled as a local stressor, whose location and density are demonstrated to be vital to the occurrence of local bending. The thin film rests on a viscous layer, which is governed by the Navier-Stokes equation and behaves like an elastic foundation to exert transverse forces on the thin film. The unknown feature of the axial constraint force makes the governing equation highly nonlinear even for the small deflection case. The constraint force and film transverse deflection are solved iteratively through the governing equation and the displacement constraint equation of immovable edges. This research shows that in some special cases, the deposition density increase does not necessarily reduce the local bending. By comparing the thin film deflections of different deposition numbers and positions, we also present the guideline of strengthening or suppressing the local bending.

Flexural fatigue behavior of injection-molded composites based on poly(phenylene ether ketone)

Flexural fatigue tests were conducted on injection-molded short fiber composites, carbon fiber/poly(phenylene ether ketone) (PEK-C) and glass fiber/PEK-C (with addition of polyphenylene sulfide for improving adhesion between matrix and fibers), using four-point bending at stress ratio of 0.1. The fatigue behavior of these materials was presented. By comparing the S-N curves and analyzing the fracture surfaces of the two materials, the similarity and difference of the failure mechanisms in the two materials were discussed. It is shown that the flexural fatigue failure of the studied materials is governed by their respective tensile properties. The matrix yielding is main failure mechanism at high stress, while at lower stress the fatigue properties appear fiber and interface dominated. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

THE EFFECT OF LOADING PARAMETERS ON FATIGUE BEHAVIOR OF INJECTION-MOLDED COMPOSITE

Flexural fatigue tests were performed on an injection-moulded glass-fiber reinforced blend of polyphenylene ether ketone and polyphenylene sulfide composite using four-point bending at a series of fixed mean stress levels with varying stress amplitude. Attention was given to identifying the effects of mean stress and stress amplitude on the fatigue life and failure mechanisms. It was found that the fatigue life of the studied material decreased sharply with increasing stress amplitude at a constant mean stress level and also decreased at a fixed stress amplitude with increasing mean stress. However, analyses of the fatigue data and failure behaviour reveal that, for the studied material, fatigue failure mechanisms depend on the relative importance of mean stress and stress amplitude. At a mean stress level of 80% ultimate flexural strength, the failure results from accumulation of creep strain, while at mean stress levels of 40%, 50% and 60% ultimate flexural strength, the magnitude of stress amplitude influences the type of failure mechanism. As stress amplitude is reduced, the fatigue failure mechanism changes from matrix yielding dominated to crack growth dominated fracture.

A STUDY OF MODE-I DELAMINATION RESISTANCE OF A THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE

This paper describes the mode I delamination behaviour of a unidirectional carbon-fibre/poly(phenylene ether ketone)(PEK-C) composite. Tests have been performed on double cantilever beam (DCB) specimens. Several data reduction schemes are used to obtain the critical strain energy release rate, G(IC), and the results are compared. It is shown that when using a DCB test to determine the fracture toughness, corrections must be employed. The experimental methods have been described for ascertaining the correction terms, and the results are consistent after modification. Some of the authors' results are different from those of other authors, particularly the negative correction term for crack length, the larger exponent (n > 3) in the relationship C = Ra(n), and decrements of flexural modulus with the crack growth when using the simple beam theory to predict the bending behaviour of DCB specimens. The possible reasons are discussed.