Cyclic viscoplasticity of solid polymers: The effects of strain rate and amplitude of deformation

Observations are reported on polypropylene random copolymer in uniaxial cyclic tensile tests with various strain rates (ranging from 1.7 X 10(-4) to 8.3 x 10(-3) s(-1)). Each cycle of deformation involves tension up to the maximal strain epsilon(max) (from 0.05 to 0.20) and retraction down to the zero stress. The study focuses on deformation programs with 10-50 cycles in each test. A constitutive model is derived for the viscoplastic behavior of a solid polymer at three-dimensional cyclic deformations with small strains. Material constants in the stress-strain relations are found by fitting the experimental data. Good agreement is demonstrated between the observations and the results of numerical simulation. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.