MECHANICAL FATIGUE OF EPOXY-RESIN

In static bending fatigue tests, epoxy resins show practically no fatigue if the stress given to specimen is lower than a critical value, which is close to the bending strength of the specimen. In cyclic bending fatigue tests, on the other hand, the resins are easily fractured even though the stresses are far below the critical values. Some strain may be accumulated on the surface of specimen through cyclic deformations. However, the strain accumulated is reversible. If the specimen is allowed to rest, the strain disappears. If the strain reaches a critical value, an irreversible transition may be induced, probably in the arrangement of segments on the surface. A crack nucleus thus created may propagate and cause the final fracture of the specimen, following the fracture mechanics of elastic materials. The lifetime of epoxy resins under cyclic bending load is determined by the time required for creating a crack nucleus on surface.