Time-dependent craze zone growth at a crack tip in polymer solids

By considering the polymer bulk as a linear viscoelastic body and the craze zone at crack tip as a nonlinear damage zone, the control equation for craze zone growth has been derived. It is shown that for a time-independent craze-zone stress, the craze zone would grow only if the crack-tip stress intensity factor is changed. If the crack-tip stress intensity factor remains constant during loading, the growth rate of the craze zone length will be interrelated to the crack-tip stress, the craze zone length and the rate of change of the craze-zone stress. If both the craze-zone stress and the crack-tip stress intensity factor are time-independent, the craze zone length will be constant during the crack growth, which is the case of self-similar crack growth. Moreover, a new stress distribution model in craze zone is presented based on the constructed damage evolution law, and the lengthening and thickening of the craze zone at the crack tip are also formulated. The numerical calculations from the proposed model agree well with the published experimental data.