APPLICATION OF A CONCEPT OF DISTRIBUTED DAMAGE TO CREEP INDUCED BUCKLING OF HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE SPECIMENS

In this work, a concept of distributed damage, including its inception and propagation, was applied to creep induced buckling of specimens prepared from high density polyethylene (HDPE). Using a kinetic relationship for damage accumulation, an integral equation for the front of the damage zone was derived. A time parameter associated with the inception of the damage front was obtained. The motion of the front was approximated for small times. Long time estimation was obtained using an assumption for a shape of the damage distribution. These results enabled us to review reported experimental results on creep induced buckling using a new insight into the relationship between applied load and time to buckle.