THERMAL AND VOID VOLUME FRACTION PROFILES IN 3D FOR A DENT SPECIMEN OF NEAT AND GLASS OF SYNTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE MATERIALS

Glass of syntactic polypropylene (GsPP) is used for thermal insulation of subsea pipelines. This contribution displays the temperature and deformation fields in 3D on Double Edge Notched Tensile (DENT) specimens, made of both polypropylene (PP) matrix and GsPP. The influence of the microstructural and the thermal changes in the notched section on the load versus crack opening displacement curve is analyzed. The definition of the crack initiation in relation to a critical void volume fraction is discussed
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