Threshold Tear Strength of Some Molecular Networks

Threshold fracture of lightly crosslinked networks

“…This describes a "perfect" network that approximates the systems studied by Gent and Tobias. 15 As discussed above, this function correctly models Go when & < fe but fails as fc surpasses other characteristic dimensions of the system such as fe. Note that the assumption that every chain is elastically active is not essential for the Lake-Thomas form.1 Corrections for imperfections are generally small for these "tightly" crosslinked networks, and the fcV2 dependence also models data for imperfect networks, e.g., randomly cross-linked networks.…”

About the Influence of Materials Parameters on the Ultimate and Fatigue Properties of Elastomers

“…The reduction of the dissipation zone can be obtained by pushing an ultra-sharp blade into the open crack. This inspired a new efficient protocol to rapidly evaluate G0 [36,37].Values are found between 20 and 100 J / m 2 [38][39][40][41][42]. According to Lake and Thomas [43], they corresponds to the breaking energy of the chains that cross the fracture plane.…”