Strain Rate and Temperature Effects on Tensile Properties and Their Representation in Deformation Modeling of Vinyl Ester Polymer

This paper discusses the effects of strain rate and temperature on tensile properties and stress-strain behavior of vinyl ester polymer. Tensile strength and modulus were found to increase linearly with the log of strain rate, and decrease linearly with increasing temperature. Ramberg-Osgood and Menges models were used and extended to describe the strain rate and temperature dependency of the stress-strain behavior. The extended Menges model provided better representation of the observed behavior compared to the Ramberg-Osgood model for a wide range of temperatures and strain rates. Mechanical properties obtained from flexure tests are also presented and compared to tensile data.