Chain relaxation capability and service life of polymeric materials

Behavior of polymers in creep, stress relaxation, stress‐strain curve determination, impact tests and under dynamic periodic loads are analyzed. Rapid crack propagation and slow crack propagation are considered in relation to service performance and life time. All essential aspects of mechanical behavior of polymeric materials and components have a common denominator: competition between chain relaxation capability (CRC) and destructive processes. For a given force (magnitude, rate, direction, duration) the outcome of this competition depends largely on the amount of free volume.