Notch effect on the fracture of a polymeric film

The fracture behavior of a bio-based thermoplastic copolyester film has been studied by combining the essential work of fracture, the J-integral, and the crack tip opening displacement characterization methods on double edge notched tension specimens, in an attempt to provide a better understanding of the details that play an important role in the repeatability and the reproducibility of the essential work of fracture test, with particular attention to the effect of the quality of the notches generated by two different notch sharpening techniques. Specifically, the femtosecond pulsed laser ablation and the classic razor blade sliding techniques have been applied. The equivalence, reported and discussed in the literature, between the specific essential work of fracture and the J value at crack initiation, as well as their relationship with the crack tip opening displacement, have been confirmed. It is also identified the parabolic shape of the stress-displacement curves, which modeled relates the specific non-essential work of fracture with the stress at initiation and the extension ratio during the crack growth.Peer Reviewe