Rate dependent deformation of semi-crystalline polypropylene near room temperature

We examine the strain rate dependent, large plastic deformation in isotropic semi-crystalline polypropylene at room temperature. Constant strain rate uniaxial compression tests on cylindrical polypropylene specimens show very little true strain softening under quasi-static conditions. At high strain rates very large amounts (38 percent) of apparent strain softening accompanied by temperature rises are recorded. We examine the capability of a recently proposed constitutive model for plastic deformation in semi-crystalline polymers to predict this behavior. We neglect the contribution of the amorphous phase to the plastic deformation response and include the effects of adiabatic heating at high strain rates. Attention is focused on the ability to predict rate dependent yielding, strain softening, strain hardening, and adiabatic temperature rises with this approach. Comparison of simulations and experimental results show good agreement and provide insight into the merits of using a polycrystalline modeling assumption versus incorporating the amorphous contribution. discrepancies between experiments and model predictions are explained in terms of expectations associated with neglecting the amorphous deformation.