Fracture toughness of acrylic resins: Viscoelastic effects and deformation mechanisms

The time dependence of fracture toughness of two different acrylic resins, one plain and one toughened, intended to be used as continuous fiber composite matrices was studied. By performing fracture tests following the fracture mechanics approach, the energy release rate, GIc, was determined at different temperatures and displacement rates and by applying the time-temperature superposition it was possible to obtain GIc as a function of crack speed, math formula, over a wide range of speeds. The trends obtained for the two resins were different. For the plain resin it could be well described by J. G. Williams' viscoelastic fracture theory while for the toughened resin, the trend obtained was attributed to a change in the damage mechanism occurring at the crack tip during fracture. From measurements of the process zone size it was deduced that the damage mechanism at the crack tip for the plain resin was the same irrespective of time and temperature, for the toughened resin instead, different mechanisms seem to take place. This hypothesis was supported by results of volume strain measurements in tensile tests at different temperature and strain rates.