Interfacial Fracture Strength of Viscoelastic Inclusions in a Polymer Blend

Abstract

The interfacial fracture strength in polymer blends is investigated in this study. The constitutive relations of polymeric matrix and inclusions are both approximately described by linear viscoelastic models. It is assumed that the interfacial de-boding between inclusions and matrix is dominantly induced by the hydrostatic component of remote stress. Based on the assumption, the interfacial de-bonding of a viscoelastic inclusion embedded in an infinite polymeric matrix is analyzed. It is found that the size of inclusion will strongly affect the magnitude of critical stress, and the effect of Poisson’s ratio on the de-bonding is so small that can be ignored.