Experimental and Numerical Analysis on Mixed Mode Fracture of PMMA

Generally, crack growth in polymers may occur under combined tensile-shear loading. Arcan test specimen was originally designed for use with composite materials, but in recent years has been adapted by many researchers for use with isotropic materials. In this paper, in an attempt to study the fracture toughness, test specimens were prepared in the form of butterfly from Poly methyl methacrylate polymer. Experimental fracture tests were performed in three different crack lengths and first mode, mixed-mode and the pure second mode by changing the loading angle, using a specially developed fixture, based on Arcan. Load versus displacement curves were obtained. Using critical loads of the tests and the dimensionless stress intensity factors, obtained from the finite element analysis by ABAQUS software, fracture toughness of the polymer was determined. As the result, it can be seen that the shearing mode fracture toughness is larger than opening mode toughness. This means that cracked specimen is weaker in tensile loading. Finite element analysis was performed using elastic properties of the Poly methyl methacrylate polymer.