On visco-elastic modelling of polyethylene terephthalate behaviour during multiaxial elongations slightly over the glass transition temperature

The mechanical response of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) in elongation is strongly dependent on temperature, strain and strain rate. Near the glass transition temperature Tg, the stress-strain curve presents a strain softening effect vs strain rate but a strain hardening effect vs strain under conditions of large deformations. The main goal of this work is to propose a viscoelastic model to predict the PET behaviour when subjected to large deformations and to determine the material properties from the experimental data. To represent the non–linear effects, an elastic part depending on the elastic equivalent strain and a non-Newtonian viscous part depending on both viscous equivalent strain rate and cumulated viscous strain are tested. The model parameters can then be accurately obtained trough a comparison with the experimental uniaxial and biaxial tests. The in?uence of the temperature on the viscous part is also modelled and an evaluation of the adiabatic self heating of the specimen is compared to experimental results.

Vortex-induced vibrations of a rigid cylinder on elastic supports with endstops. Part 1: Experimental Results

This paper describes an experimental investigation into the effect of restricting the vortex-induced vibrations of a spring-mounted rigid cylinder by means of stiff mechanical endstops. Cases of both asymmetric and symmetric restraint are investigated. Results show that limiting the amplitude of the vibrations strongly affects the dynamics of the cylinder, particularly when the offset is small. Fluid-structure interaction is profoundly affected, and the well-known modes of vortex shedding observed with a linear elastic system are modified or absent. There is no evidence of lock-in, and the dominant impact frequency corresponds to a constant Strouhal number of 0.18. The presence of an endstop on one side of the motion can lead to large increases in displacements in the opposite direction. Attention is also given to the nature of the developing chaotic motion, and to impact velocities, which in single-sided impacts approach the maximum velocity of a cylinder with linear compliance undergoing VIV at lock-in. With symmetrical endstops, impact velocities were about one-half of this. Lift coefficients are computed from an analysis of the cylinder’s motion between impacts.