A methodology to assess the rate and pressure sensitivity of polymers over a wide range of strain rates

This paper details a methodology to test the mechanical response of soft, pressure sensitive materials, over a wide range of strain rates. A hybrid experimental–numerical procedure is used to assess the constitutive parameters. The experimental phase involves axial compression of a cylindrical specimen which is confined by a tightly-fit sleeve that is allowed to yield plastically, thus applying a constant confining pressure. The usually neglected frictional effects between the specimen and the sleeve are fully accounted for and characterized in detail. With commercial polycarbonate as a typical example, it is shown that pressure sensitivity and rate sensitivity are not coupled, thus reducing the number of tests needed to characterize a material. The results of numerical simulations indicate that the pressure sensitivity index (angle β in the Drucker-Prager material model) has little influence on the hydrostatic and confining pressures, whereas the equivalent stress sustained by the specimen increases with β, which for commercial polycarbonate is found to be β=15°.