Investigating the existence of a threshold stress intensity for slow crack growth in high-density polyethylene

Abstract

The existence of a threshold stress intensity for failure by slow crack growth under plane strain conditions for single-edge notched tensile specimens and for three-point bending was investigated at 42° C. It was found that the threshold for the nucleation of damage was between 0.074 and 0.063 MPa m1/2 and the threshold for complete failure was about 0.08 MPam1/2. © 1989 Chapman and Hall Ltd.