Abstract
ABSTRACT Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is an ideal material used in underwater transparent structures such as submersible windows and the fully-transparent pressure chamber of the sightseeing submersibles. The failure of PMMA structures usually come from small crack-like defects. In this paper, the fatigue crack growth experiments were carried out on PMMA materials with different thicknesses (B = 3, 6, 12 mm) and stress ratios (R = 0.1, 0.3) as well as plane strain fracture toughness test for unstable crack propagation conditions. Thickness effect and dwell time effect are experimentally investigated in addition to load ratio effect. The applicability of an improved crack growth rate model on PMMA material is validated by test results. The application of this model for prediction of crack growth rates can greatly save experimental time under different working conditions and can be applied in fatigue assessment of full-transparent structures under random loading.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
