INITIATION AND GROWTH OF INTERFACIAL DEFE CTS IN PARTICULATE-FILLED POLYMER COMPOSITES

The conditions of initiation and growth of interfacial defects in part iculate-filled polymer compo-sites based on polyethylene, polypropylen e, and epoxy resin matrices filled with glass spheres were investigate d both theoretically and experimentally. The surface of the glass sphe res was modified by various methods. Thin films were studied under con ditions of elastic strain. The initiation and propagation of cracks we re described by numerically solving the boundary problem of the elasti city theory in conjunction with the Griffith energy criteria of crack propagation. A model was proposed and substantiated to describe the ki netics of initiation and accumulation of microdebonding defects genera ted as a result of the development of local plastic flow regions.