Constitutive Model for High Density Polyethylene Material: Systematic Approach

A constitutive model was developed for high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe material using published data considering the strain rate effect. A hyperbolic model was used and a conventional approach was employed to estimate the constants of this model from published test data. The observed form of HDPE material behavior as the strain rate changes suggested that a more systematic approach might yield a more robust predictive model. This paper presents a newly developed constitutive model for HDPE material using both the conventional approach and a more systematic “focus point” method.