SPE 2013 FA Part 2 Handout

Introduction to
Plastic Failure Analysis - Part 2
Jeffrey A. Jansen
January 24, 2013
608-231-1907
jeff@madisongroup.com
Agenda
• Cracking in Plastics
• Failure Mechanisms
– Impact
– Creep
C
– Environmental Stress Cracking
– Fatigue
F ti
– Molecular Degradation
• Case Studies
Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

The Madison Group jeff@madisongroup.com
CRACKING IN PLASTICS

Plastics Cracking
Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:
• Covalent polymer backbone bonds are not

broken

Plastics Cracking

• Covalent polymer backbone bonds are not
broken by mechanical foreces

Plastics Cracking

• Disentanglement mechanism in which polymer
chains slide past each other

Plastics Cracking

• Applied stresses – both internal and external -
overcome inter-molecular forces such as,
Van der Waals forces, London dispersion
p forces,
hydrogen bonding, and dipole interactions

Plastics Cracking

• Mechanism is the same for amorphous and
semi-crystalline polymers
Amorphous Semi-crystalline
y
Plastics Cracking
Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Stress
S
Strain
Plastics Cracking
Linear elastic deformation Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Non-linear elastic deformation Failure
Plastic deformation
Yielding Necking
Stress
S
Adapted from Figures 10.19, 10.21, and 10.23

Strain M t i l S
Materials Science
i off P
Polymers
l ffor E
Engineers,
i
Hanser
Plastics Cracking

Plastic deformation
Yielding Necking
Stress
S

Strain M t i l S
Materials Science
i off P
Polymers
l ffor E
Engineers,
i
Hanser
Plastics Cracking

Plastic deformation
Yielding Necking
Stress
S

Strain M t i l S
Materials Science
i off P
Polymers
l ffor E
Engineers,
i
Hanser
Plastics Cracking

Plastic deformation
Yielding Necking
Stress
S

Strain M t i l S
Materials Science
i off P
Polymers
l ffor E
Engineers,
i
Hanser
Plastics Cracking
Cracking is Simply a Response to Stress

• Crackingg is the p
partial fracture of a
solid material
• Cracking produces two mating
f
fracture surfaces
f
• Catastrophic failure occurs if the
cracking extends sufficiently through
the material

Plastics Cracking
Cracking is Simply a Response to Stress

• Cracking g occurs as a stress relief
• Ductile fracture is a bulk molecular
response through yielding (macro
molecular
l l rearrangement) t) ffollowed
ll dbby
disentanglement
• Brittle fracture is a localized molecular
response where disentanglement is
favored over yielding

Plastics Cracking
Based upon the 3 types of loading:

• Tensile Stress Compression Tension
• Compressive Stress
• Shear Stress
• Torsional Stress
• Flexural or Bending Stress
• Hoop Stress
Shear

MECHANISMS OF PLASTIC FAILURE

Failure Mechanisms
Taken From “ Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

IMPACT FAILURE

Impact Failure
Characteristics of impact cracking:

• El
Elevated
t d strain
t i rate
t → llower dductility
tilit
• Polymer chains slide past each other through
disentanglement mechanism.
mechanism
• At increasingly elevated strain rates, the polymer
molecules making up the formed plastic component
are precluded from having sufficient time to
undergo
g pplastic deformation and yyielding.
g
Reduced impact properties
Reduced fracture toughness
Impact Failure
· Source: “Ductile-To-Brittle Transition of Plastic Materials II”, Advanced

Brittle Materials and Processes, ASM International, February 2007, pg. 25-27
Brittle-Ductile
Stress
Ductile-Brittle
Ductile Brittle
Ductile
Strain

Impact Failure
Impact
• Crack initiation occurs when the minimum
energy is exceeded
• Crack propagates when the applied load
exceeds the crack initiation energy
• Catastrophic failure occurs when the applied
energy exceeds the combined work required
for crack initiation and complete propagation
Damping is a key consideration
Impact Failure
Impact strength can be defined as:

“the ability
y of a p
plastic to withstand a rapidly
p y
applied load,”
but as with most things in the plastics world, it
is not always as simple as that…..

Impact Failure
High Strain Rate Applications:
• Impact
• Snap-fit Installation
• Water Hammer / Rapid p Pressurization

Impact Failure
Snap Fit Installation

Not much deflection, but almost instantaneous –
Very High Strain Rate
Catch

Impact Failure -20
Temperature °C
0 20 40 60
Low density polyethylene

Nylon – wet
Polycarbonate
y
Acrylonitrile:butadiene:styrene
resin
hness
Polypropylene copolymers
easing Tough
High density polyethylene
Nylon – dry
Poly(vinyl chloride)
Incre
Polyacetal
Poly(ethylene terephthalate)
P l
Polypropylene
l h
homopolymer
l
Poly(methyl methacrylate)
Polystyrene

Impact Failure
Key Factors
• Polymer Type
• Overall Plastic Resin Composition
• Part Design
• Strain Rate
• Temperature
• Striker Geometry

Creep and Creep Rupture
608-231-1907
jeff@madisongroup.com
Creep Failure
Creep Creep
8% 14%
Taken From “Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

Creep Failure
Creep
p is…..
the tendency of a solid material to
deform permanently under the influence
of constant stress ((tensile,, compressive,
p ,
shear, or flexural). It occurs as a function
of time through extended exposure to
levels of stress that are below the yield
strength of the material
material.
Creep Failure
Creep
• Low to moderate forces exerted over an
extended time → lower ductility. Can result in
brittle fracture in normally ductile plastics
• Inherent
I h viscoelastic
i l i nature off polymers
l lleads
d to
time dependency
• Prolonged static stresses lead to a decay in
apparent modulus through localized molecular
reorganization of polymer chains
• At stresses below the yield point molecular
reorganization includes disentanglement as
there is no opportunity for yielding
Time Under Load
Metal Plastic
Initial Deformation
Initial Placement
300 45
Stress Stress
Day 1
Creep Failure
Metal Plastic
Initial Deformation
Initial Placement
300 45
Stress Stress
Day 100
Creep Failure
Metal Plastic
Initial Deformation
Initial Placement
300 45
Stress Stress
Day ????
Creep Failure
Source: “Understanding the Consequence of Ductile-to-Brittle Transitions in

10,000 psi a Plastics Materials Failure”, Published and Presented at ANTEC, 2008
9 000 psi Ductile Failure

9,000
7,500 psi Yield Point
Stress
s
5,000 psi
2 00 psii
2,500
Brittle Failure
1,000 psi
Time

Creep Failure
Graph from
Smithers RAPRA
http://www.rapra.net
Modest levels of stress applied

pp over long gp periods of time
induce crazes and cracks. This is the underlying cause of
the long-term transition from ductile to brittle behavior for
ductile plastics
Creep Failure
Brittle Fracture
Normalized Creep Rate
Adapted
p from NIST model
http://www.metallurgy.nist.gov/

Creep Failure
Key Factors in Creep

• Plastic material
• Formulation Constituents
• Stress Level
• Temperature
• Molded Part Design Features

Creep Failure
Stress Relaxation is:
The time-dependent
time dependent decrease in stress
under sustained strain. Parallels creep,
except strain is constant and the response
is a change in stress.

FATIGUE FAILURE

Fatigue Failure
Fatigue
15%
Taken From “Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

Fatigue Failure
F ti
Fatigue is….
i
“the
the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs
when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal
maximum stress values are less than the yield strength and
t
tensile
il strength
t th off the
th material”
t i l”
Like creep, fatigue produces an apparent decay in strength.

Fatigue Failure
Fatigue
• Low to moderate forces exerted intermittentlyy
over an extended time → lower ductility. Can
result in brittle fracture in normally ductile
plastics
• Cyclic stress application leads to a decay in
apparent modulus through localized molecular
reorganization of polymer chains
• At stresses below the yield point molecular
reorganization includes disentanglement as
there is no opportunity for yielding

Fatigue Failure
Under conditions of cyclic loading, the decay in strength occurs

more rapidly
p y than under conditions of static stress.

Fatigue Failure
Fatigue Life
Taken From “Fatigue and Tribological Properties of Plastics and Elastomers”

Second Edition by Laurence McKeen
Fatigue Failure
Hysteresis vs. Brittle Fracture
Taken From “Fatigue

Fatigue of
Engineering Plastics”
by Hertzberg and
Manson

Fatigue Failure
• Fatigue failure occurs through external

stress and can be considered a
continuous process.
• Two main phases
– Crack initiation - 20% to 80% of lifetime
– Propagation

Fatigue Failure
Crack Propagation – Stable Growth

Fatigue Failure
Component Factors
• Polymer Type
• Molecular weight
• Crystallinity
• Modifiers
• Fillers
• Absorbed water / chemical agents
• Size and number of defects / stress conc.
• Fabrication method
Fatigue Failure
Environmental Factors
• Amplitude
A lit d
• Frequency
• Waveform
• Temperature

ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CRACKING

Environmental Stress Cracking
25%

Environmental Stress Cracking is…

the premature embrittlement and subsequent
cracking of a plastic due to the simultaneous
and synergistic action of stress and contact
with a chemical agent
Stress
Plastic
Chemical


• Chemical agent permeates into molecular
structure → lower ductility
• Mechanism includes interference with
inter-molecular forces bonding polymer
chains
• Reduces the energy required for
disentanglement/slippage to occur
producing a shift in the preferred
mechanism from yielding

• No chemical reaction between the polymer
and the chemical agent
• No molecular degradation
• The plastic would undergo stress cracking
in air given sufficient time
• The chemical accelerates the stress
cracking

Chemical Agent
Plastic Sample
Bend Fixture

Elevated stress zone at

d f
defect, scratch,
h crackk
Typically these defects
range in stress
concentration factor from
1 to 50.
Chemical agent
permeates into plastic
surface – preferentially at
elevated stress field.
Localized plasticization
via stress enhanced fluid
absorption at stress
stress.
Crazes fform and

C d grow
within chemically-
affected zone
Crazes rupture
C t to
t form
f a
crack

Crazes form and grow

within chemically-
affected zone in front of
crack
Crazes rupture
C t to
t extend
t d
the crack

Diagram from Smithers RAPRA

http://www.rapra.net
Key Factors in ESC

• Polymer
P l C
Composition
iti
• Chemical Agent
• Chemical Agent Concentration
• Stress Level (Internal and External)
• Stress Concentration Factors
Stress
• Temperature
• Exposure Time Plastic
Chemical

MOLECULAR DEGRADATION

Molecular Degradation
6%
4% 7%

M l
Molecular
l D Degradation
d ti M Mechanisms
h i
• Oxidation
• Ultraviolet Radiation (UV)
• Hydrolysis
• Chain Scission
• Side Chain Alteration
• Destructive Crosslinking
Molecular Weight Changes Permanently

Through Chemical Reactions
• Reduction in molecular weight → lower

d tilit
ductility
• Loss of entanglement associated with
shortening of polymer chains
• Reduces the energygy required
q for
disentanglement/slippage to occur and shifts
the p
preferred mechanism from y yielding
g

Oxidation
Thermal oxidation is the chemical reaction
of a polymeric material with oxygen from an
oxidizing material, including air. The rate of
th d
the degradation
d ti reaction
ti iincreases with
ith
increasing temperatures.
The oxygen in the air is the reactant and

ambient
bi t h
heatt is
i th
the energy source which
hi h
drives the reaction.

O id ti
Oxidation
• Most polymers undergo thermal oxidation.
• Oxidation takes places via free radical
formation.
• Chemical reaction – incorporation of
oxygen into the backbone structure,
creates carbonyl structural groups.

Oxidation Reaction Mechanism

Catalyzed by metals, particularly Cu
2ROOH RO + ROO + H2O
ROO + RH ROOH + R
Polymer
R +O2 ROO
O O O O
ROO R-C-R’, R-C-H, R-C-OR’, R-C-OH
Ketone Aldehyde Ester Organic Acid

Effects of Oxidation
• Loss of Molecular Weight • Evolution of Volatiles
– Embrittlement – Foul Odor Generation
– Loss of Mechanical Integrity
g y • Carbonyl Formation
– Cracking
– Loss of Dielectric Properties
– Catastrophic Failure
• Conjugation
j g
– Discoloration
– Loss of Gloss
– Loss of Transparency

Polypropylene
Low Density Polyethylene
High Density Polyethylene
Decreasing Nylon
Susceptibility Polyacetal
to Oxidation Poly(phenylene oxide)
Poly (ether ether ketone)
Poly(phenylene sulfide)
Poly(vinylidene fluoride)
Polytetrafluoroethylene

Key Factors
• Polymer Type
– Molecular structure of the polymer
– Functional Groups
– Branching
• Formulation Additives
– Type
– Effectiveness
• Temperature
p
• Exposure Time
• Stress Level (Internal and External)

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Introduction to

Plastic Failure Analysis - Part 2

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:

• Covalent polymer backbone bonds are not

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of Plastics Cracking:

Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Linear elastic deformation Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Adapted from Figures 10.19, 10.21, and 10.23

Linear elastic deformation Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Adapted from Figures 10.19, 10.21, and 10.23

Linear elastic deformation Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Adapted from Figures 10.19, 10.21, and 10.23

Linear elastic deformation Tensile Properties – Pipe Pressurization

Adapted from Figures 10.19, 10.21, and 10.23

Cracking is Simply a Response to Stress

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Cracking is Simply a Response to Stress

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Based upon the 3 types of loading:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Taken From “ Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Characteristics of impact cracking:

· Source: “Ductile-To-Brittle Transition of Plastic Materials II”, Advanced

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Impact strength can be defined as:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

High Strain Rate Applications:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Snap Fit Installation

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Low density polyethylene

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Taken From “Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Source: “Understanding the Consequence of Ductile-to-Brittle Transitions in

9 000 psi Ductile Failure

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Modest levels of stress applied

Normalized Creep Rate

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Key Factors in Creep

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Stress Relaxation is:

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Taken From “Failure of Plastics and Rubber Products” by David Wright

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Like creep, fatigue produces an apparent decay in strength.

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Plastic Failure Analysis Jeffrey A. Jansen 608-231-1907

Under conditions of cyclic loading, the decay in strength occurs