Creep analysis of polymer structures

Abstract

Abstract One of the important aspects in designing polymer structures and predicting their lifetime is the computation of time‐dependent deformation. A tensile creep law for constant uniaxial stress was developed using talc‐filled polypropylene as an example. A simplified finite‐element creep analysis technique for polymer structures was developed with only one time step, an isochronous stress‐stress formulation, and a deformation plasticity‐type analysis, With an elastic analysis and this one‐step nonlinear analysis for a given time and temperature, the displacement of a critical location in the polymer structure can be calculated for any time and temperature without further finite‐element analysis. Comparisons of calculations with this one‐step analysis and with the standard time‐stepping analysis and experimental results for a beam in bending and a plate with a hole demonstrate the usefulness of this approach.