Plastic instability studied experimentally on a semi-crystalline polymer through thermomechanical heat source identification: the flow stress concept revisited

Micromechanical deformation phenomena such as those leading to macroscopic viscoelastic and plastic behavior must be studied from a thermodynamic viewpoint, as they induce complex and partly irreversible heat effects. Calorimetric measurements of the intrinsic volumetric thermomechanical heat sources (THS) activated in the material bulk during mechanical loads can produce valuable information with respect to that aim. They can be based on infrared imaging if submitted to inverse algorithms that allow a correct reconstruction of THS to be produced. Here, an inverse method relying on a diffusion-advection heat transfer model is applied to experimental temperature maps recorded during tensile tests. These are made on a semi-crystalline polymer that shows a strong development of plastic instabilities. Along with simultaneous kinematic observables produced with a digital image correlation system, the competition between advection and diffusion phenomena may be clearly established. 1-D profiles of the reconstructed THS and measured strain rates illustrate clearly that thermomechanical effects associated with necking onset and propagation follow the kinematic variable in a rather direct manner. Finally, we show for tensile experiments that THS estimations lead to analyze plasticity as a rheological behavior controlled by the flow stress, responsible of necking development and propagation.