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Microcrack dynamics in a polymer composite material during friction

V. I. Vettegren^a, A. I. Lyashkov^a, A. V. Savitskii^a, I. P. Shcherbakov^a, K. D. Vasil’ev<sup>b

a</sup> Ioffe Institute, St. Petersburg
^b St. Petersburg Polytechnic University

Abstract: The dynamics of microcracks in the surface layers of a polymer and a polymer composite during friction is studied by triboluminescence (TL). The samples are prepared from poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) and a composite consisting of PPS reinforced by carbon fibers. An analysis of the spectra shows that TL appears during the relaxation of the electron excitation of the free radicals that form upon the breakage of chemical bonds in carbon fibers and PPS molecules. TL consists of bursts corresponding to microcrack nucleation, and the burst intensity corresponds to the microcrack surface area. Microcracks form in time intervals of several tens of microseconds rather than continuously. Within these intervals, microcracks form in series sequentially, one by one, at a time step of 3–4 $\mu$s. Each series consists of several (up to 30) microcracks that also form sequentially, in 20-ns intervals. The sequential nucleation of microcracks and microcrack series is explained by stress redistribution in fracture zones in PPS and the composite.

Received: 31.01.2012

 English version: Technical Physics, 2012, 57:10, 1445–1448

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