FIXATION OF 3-DIMENSIONAL STATES OF DEFORMATION IN POLYMERS BY IONIZING-RADIATION II - BASIC FIXATION EXPERIMENTS

By the fixation of three-dimensional states of deformation in polymeri c model materials the stress situation, even in the interior of comple x constructional units and machine parts, can be studied at ambient te mperature by simulation. In pre-study polymeric materials, on the basi s of modified epoxy resins and of radiation-cured systems, have been i nvestigated. As a result a number of radiation-cured polymers containi ng aromatic structural units in the backbone appeared to be best suite d due to their stress-optical sensitivity and little creep. In the pre sent work basic fixation experiments complete the spectrum of properti es essential for such model materials. The results are discussed from the chemical viewpoint. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights rese rved.