Comparison of voiding mechanisms in semi-crystalline polyamide 6 during tensile and creep tests

Abstract : Behaviour of a semi-crystalline polymer, polyamide 6, described by loading curves, as well as necking and whitening phenomena, is related to its micro-structural evolution in terms of void morphology and distribution during both tensile and creep tests. Notched bars have been subjected to creep tests interrupted at the onset of the tertiary creep stage and at the onset of final rupture. Inspections of these specimens using Synchrotron Radiation Tomography have been coupled with statistical image analysis treatment to obtain spatial distributions of void length and void volume fraction. Cavitation mechanisms observed and quantified during creep and tensile tests were similar: from penny shaped voids (diameter larger than height) perpendicular to the drawing direction to cylindrical voids (diameter equal to the height) arranged in columns during the neck extension. The void volume fraction distributions along radial and axial directions presented an inverted parabolic profile with a maximum located at the centre of the sample. Keywords