Polymer Engineering and Science, Vol.34, No.17, 1319-1326, 1994
Viscoelastic-Plastic Deformation-Behavior of Polypropylene After Cyclic Preloadings
Stress-relaxation behavior is studied in polypropylene samples subjected to different cyclic preloadings and to simple tension. The relaxation tests are performed under different sets of strain amplitude, number of cycles, and strain rate, using a closed-loop, electrohydraulic, servocontrolled testing machine. The calculated stress-strain curves are determined from a constitutive equation based on an overstress theory in which an equilibrium stress and a viscosity function are treated. The calculated results agree well with the experimental ones. It is concluded that the overstress theory explains the nonlinear viscoelastic-plastic behavior of polypropylene.