Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72

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Polymer Testing
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/polytest

Property modelling

Elasto-viscoplastic behaviour of polyester polymer mortars

under monotonic and cyclic compression
F.J.C. Del Vecchio, J.M.L. Reis, H.S. da Costa Mattos*
Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Passo da Pátria 156, 24210-240 Niterói, RJ, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present paper is focused on study of the plastic behaviour and strain rate sensitivity of
Received 13 January 2014 cylindrical polymer mortar specimens in monotonic and cyclic compression tests. The
Accepted 20 February 2014 experimental results indicate elasto-viscoplastic behaviour: the load-carrying capacity of
the specimen increases significantly with strain rate while the elastic properties remain
Keywords: practically constant. Under cyclic loading and unloading the material may exhibit hyster-
Polymer mortar
esis (a phase lag), which leads to a progressive accumulation of deformation. In this case,
Cyclic compression tests
despite the high scatter of the experimental results, the number of cycles until failure
Strain rate sensitivity
Elasto-viscoplasticity
tends to be smaller for lower loading frequencies. Preliminary ideas for a phenomeno-
Ratcheting logical model able to describe such nonlinear elasto-viscoplastic behaviour are also
Ultra-low cycle fatigue presented.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The PM compounds exhibit large versatility in applica-

The development of new materials possessing higher
durability and mechanical strength is a major requirement
in the construction industry. In past decades, polymers
have been used in the production of composite materials
with these differentiated mechanical properties [1–3].
Polymer mortars (PM) are examples of these materials due
not only to their high mechanical performance, but also to
the reduction of the need for maintenance and frequent
repairs compared with conventional building materials.
These composites differ in terms of chemical composition
from cementitious mortars by the substitution of the
binder with a thermoset resin that will polymerize with the
aid of additives, an initiator and a promoter [4]. During the
mixing process, the resin penetrates into the capillary voids
of the aggregates, forming a durable bond.
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: þ55 21 2629 5585.
E-mail addresses: heraldo@mec.uff.br, heraldo@pq.cnpq.br (H.S. da
Costa Mattos).
tions. The most common applications are directed to floor
covering, bridge coatings and the petrochemical industry
[5], prefabricated components for the construction in-
dustry and piping and coatings for the chemical and food
industries [6,7].
Understanding the mechanical behaviour of this type of
composite at different strain rates is of critical importance
for a range of applications. Most of the characterization
procedures for these materials are still fundamentally
based on the assumption of elastic behaviour or linear
viscoelastic behaviour, which is not able to explain complex
nonlinear behaviour, such as the ratcheting and shakedown
observed in cyclic compression tests. Whatever the inten-
ded use, the effects posed by the operational conditions on
the physical properties of polymer mortars must be care-
fully analysed to establish the proper maintenance pro-
cedures and/or to determine the life of the component.
Experimental high-strain rate monotonic testing in poly-
mer composites and concrete-like materials remains a diffi-
cult subject area that is full of complexities. Indeed, success
with the high strain rate testing of polymer composites

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2014.02.007
0142-9418/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72
broadly depends on the ability to isolate the inherent inertial
disturbances attributed to the test system [8–12].
There are relatively few studies on the cyclic inelastic
behavior of polymer materials. Chen et al. [13] studied the
ratcheting behaviour of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)
under cyclic compression. Multiaxial ratcheting experi-
ments on PTFE solid cylindrical specimens were performed
by Zhang and Chen [14], and a series of uniaxial ratcheting
experiments on PTFE specimens at elevated temperature
were performed by Zhang et al. [15]. Shen et al. [16] and Xia
et al. [17] made experimental observations of ratcheting
behavior in epoxy resins. In Tao and Xia [18], the ratcheting
behaviour of an epoxy resin and its effect on fatigue life was
experimentally investigated. In Costa Mattos and Martins
[19], an experimental investigation of the progressive
accumulation of deformation observed in cyclic tension
tests in an epoxy polymer was performed. Energy dissipa-
tion and hysteresis of the standard viscoelastic solid model
under cyclic loading and unloading is discussed in [20],
based on the Boltzmann superposition principle. The ef-
fects of mean stress, stress amplitude and loading history
on the uniaxial ratcheting response of anisotropic
conductive adhesive film were investigated in [21,22].
The present paper is concerned with the experimental
investigation and mechanical modelling of the plastic
behaviour and strain rate sensitivity of cylindrical polymer
mortar specimens in monotonic and cyclic compression
tests. Monotonic tests were performed at three different
prescribed strain rates (1.25  103 s1, 1.25  102 s1 and
1.25  101 s1), and cyclic tests with prescribed force were
performed at two different frequencies (6.25  103 Hz and
62.5  103 Hz). Compression tests performed on this
particular composite under various loading rates demon-
strate that the rate dependency is significant and that the
material behaviour is elasto-viscoplastic, and not visco-
elastic. The material exhibits time-dependent plastic
behaviour, while the elastic properties are practically rate-
insensitive. Controlled strain load-unload testing (above
the proportional limit) indicates a progressive accumula-
tion of deformation. Under cyclic loading and unloading,
the material exhibits hysteresis (a phase lag), which leads
to a dissipation of mechanical energy. It has been verified
experimentally that polymer mortar under cyclic plastic
strain exhibits (nonlinear) kinematic hardening. The kine-
matic hardening is strongly dependent on the accumulated
plastic strain. In this case, despite the large scatter of the
results, the number of cycles until failure tends to be
smaller for lower loading frequencies. Very low frequency
compressive loading above the proportional limit may lead
to ultra-low cycle fatigue (life below 100 cycles). The pro-
gressive accumulation of plastic deformation can be
explained by the combined action of viscosity and kine-
matic hardening observed in this material.
A preliminary elastic-viscoplastic phenomenological
model with nonlinear kinematic and isotropic hardening is
also proposed to describe the inelastic cyclic behaviour of
the epoxy polymer. The goal is to propose a one-
dimensional phenomenological model that combines
enough mathematical simplicity to allow its usage in en-
gineering problems with the capability of describing a
complex nonlinear mechanical behaviour (the plastic
63
deformation, viscosity, strain-hardening, ratcheting and
shakedown observed in monotonic and load-unload
compression tests). In addition, the experimental deter-
mination of the parameters that appear in the model must
also be as simple as possible. The constitutive equations can
be derived from thermodynamic arguments and follow a
procedure successfully used to model tensile tests in the
presence of other nonlinear phenomena [23–26]. The
constitutive model also helps to explain the high scatter of
experimental results in fatigue tests.
The main idea is to use this model to obtain the
maximum information about the mechanical properties of
the epoxy polymer from a minimum set of laboratory tests.
2. Materials and methods
PM formulations were prepared by mixing foundry sand
with thermoset resin as a binder. The unsaturated polyester
resin used was POLYLITEÒ 10316 from REICHHOLDÒ, pre-
accelerated with 1.5% (in weight) catalyst. The resin sys-
tem properties provided by the manufacturers are given in
Table 1.
The foundry sand used was quartz sand of rather uni-
form particle size, with an average diameter of 245 mm. The
sand specific gravity was 2.65 g/cm3, and the fineness
modulus was 2.5. The resin content was 12% by weight, no
filler was added and 88% of aggregates complete the PM
formulations. Previous studies [27] with an extensive
experimental program were used to optimize the mortar
formulations being employed in the present work.
The mixture was performed mechanically to achieve a
more homogeneous material. With these mix proportions,
polymer mortar specimens were cast into cylindrical
(450  100 mm) specimens according to RILEM TC113/PC-2
[28]. All the specimens were allowed to cure for 7 days at
room temperature and then post-cured for 3 h at 60  C
before being tested.
All the tests were performed at room temperature with
a Shimadzu Model AG-X universal testing machine, with a
capacity of 10 kN. In all the tests, a cylindrical specimen of
length L ¼ 100 mm was subjected to a compressive force
F(t) that caused a change of length DL(t) (see Fig. 1)
To simplify the analysis, the variables s and ε defined in
Eq. (1) will be used in place of F and DL, respectively.
s ¼ ðF=AÞ; ε ¼ ðDL=LÞ (1)
In the present paper, following the traditional nomen-
clature, the variables s and ε will be termed, respectively,
the stress and the strain obtained in the test. Nevertheless,
it is important to note that s and ε do not really correspond
Table 1
Properties of polyester resin.
Property Polyester
Viscosity at 25  C m (cP) 250–350
Density r (g/cm3) 1.09

Heat Distortion Temperature HDT ( C) 54
Modulus of Elasticity E (GPa) 3.3
Flexural Strength (MPa) 45
Tensile Strength (MPa) 40
Maximum Elongation (%) 1
64 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72

Fig. 1. Cylindrical specimen under compression.

to the stress and strain components in the axial direction.
These parameters represent average values because the
real state of stress (and strain) in the specimen during a
compression test is complex and three-dimensional. In
addition, because the specimen is always undergoing a
compressive loading, as a convention, the compressive
force F is always presented as a positive quantity, and the
average stress s is represented as a positive quantity.
Compressive tests according to ASTM C39 [29] were
performed at 3 different strain rates. For each strain rate, 3
specimens were tested. The strain rates used were
ε_ ¼ 1.25  103 s1, ε_ ¼ 1.25  102 s1 and
ε_ ¼ 1.25  101 s1. Low-cycle fatigue tests (lifetime less
than 1000 cycles) and ultra-low-cycle fatigue tests (lifetime
less than 100 cycles) were also analysed. Fatigue tests were
performed with a load ratio of R ¼ 0.1. The imposed load
wave shape was triangular and two different frequencies
were considered (6.25  103 Hz and 62.5  103 Hz). The
maximum load and minimum load were defined as follows
minðsÞ
maxðsÞ ¼ 27:5MPa; minðsÞ ¼ 27:5MPa; R ¼ ¼ 0:1
maxðsÞ
(2.1)
properties are affected by the strain rate. As the strain rate
increases, the modulus of elasticity E, proportional stress sp
and maximum stress smax also increase.
Fig. 2 displays the average curves of polymer mortars for
each strain rate. It can be observed from Fig. 2 that poly-
ester polymer mortars are extremely strain-rate depen-
dent. It is important to observe that for rates lower than
ε_ ¼ 1:25  103 s1, the variation of the curve s  ε is
negligible. Thus, the curve obtained in a compression test
using this rate will be called the limit curve. The initial
behavior is linear or proportional (s ¼ Eε). The elasticity
modulus is almost insensitive to the strain rate variation,
and it is reasonable to consider that the stress-strain
behaviour in the proportional phase is purely elastic or
reversible; the viscoelastic behaviour or strain-rate de-
pendency can be neglected in the proportional phase. Un-
like the elasticity modulus, the proportional stress sp and
maximum stress smax have a significant strain-rate de-
pendency. The proportional limit is the stress under which
the stress-strain behaviour is linear. However, the detection
of this limit presents an experimental problem since it
depends on the precision of the strain measurements. To

 
maxðsÞ  minðsÞ 1R Table 2
sa ¼ ¼ maxðsÞ ¼ 12:375 MPa Compression test results of all strain rates tested.
2 2
(2.2) Specimen E (GPa) sp (MPa) smax (MPa)
ε_ ¼ 1:25  103 s1
  1 3.23 14.31 26.77
maxðsÞ þ minðsÞ 1þR
sm ¼ ¼ maxðsÞ ¼ 15:125 MPa 2 3.90 15.58 27.66
2 2 3 3.56 14.96 26.08
Average 3.57 14.85 26.77
(2.3)
ε_ ¼ 1:25  102 s1
1 3.89 21.47 30.16
2 3.91 22.82 30.66
3 3.62 22.56 29.82
3. Results and discussion Average 3.81 22.22 30.20
1
ε_ ¼ 1:25  101 s
3.1. Monotonic compression tests at different strain rates 1 3.70 24.08 33.31
2 3.72 28.08 34.45
3 4.22 27.08 35.19
Table 2 presents the PM monotonic test results for all Average 3.88 26.36 34.13
strain rates. Analysing Table 2, we can observe that some
 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72 65

Fig. 2. Average stress-strain curves for all strain rate levels tested.
Fig. 4. s  εir curves for three different strain rates.

circumvent this difficulty and to obtain an objective mea-

3.2. Fatigue tests at different frequencies
sure, a conventional limit was adopted that was identified
by the intersection of the experimental s  ε curve with the
The lifetimes (in number of cycles), determined from
line s ¼ E(ε  0.002), see Fig. 3.
the fatigue tests, are presented in Table 3. Fig. 5 plots typical
The definition of proportional stress allows us to
experimental curves obtained for two frequencies
decompose the strain variable into two parts. In tests with a
(62.5  103 Hz and 6.25  103 Hz). A ratcheting effect is
load lower than the proportional limit, the expression for
observed for both frequencies: a progressive increase in
the calculation is Hooke’s law. For stresses higher than sp,
strain at each cycle. Another important experimental
the stress-strain curve is not linear. Therefore, it is possible
observation is the wide dispersion in the lifetime, even
to define the following additive decomposition of the
with carefully built specimens tested under controlled
strain:
conditions.

s s For the cyclic loading histories, the effect of rate de-
ε ¼ εr þ εir ; εir ¼ /εir ¼ ε  (3) pendency is negligible if the maximum stress is less than sp.
E E
The fatigue phenomenon depends on the frequency in the
It is easy to verify that εr ¼ 0 when s ¼ 0. In addition, tests where plastic deformation occurs (s > sp). When
ε ¼ εr when s < sp. The curve s  εir can be obtained using s > sp, the lifetimes obtained in two fatigue tests performed
Equation (3). This curve is interesting because it provides under the same load levels, but with different frequencies,
interesting physical information about the strain rate are different. The lifetime is smaller for a lower frequency.
sensitivity by eliminating the purely elastic parcel of the
strain.
3.3. Mechanical modelling
In Fig. 4, the s  εir curves associated with the experi-
mental curves s  ε in Fig. 2 are presented. For each s  ε
3.3.1. Effect of the strain rate on sp and smax
curve, a corresponding s  εir curve was calculated until the
The experimental results indicate that the modulus of
maximum stress smax was reached. From Fig. 4, it is possible
elasticity is not significantly affected by the strain rate (_ε) in
to observe the effect of the strain rate on the mechanical
a compression test. However, the proportional limit (sp)
behaviour of the specimen.
and the maximum stress (smax) are highly dependent on
the strain rate.

Table 3
Experimental lifetime.

Frequency (Hz) Test Life (cycles) Mean life (cycles)

6.25  103 1 9 57
2 80
3 100
4 85
5 6
6 48
7 69
6.25  102 1 275 438
2 101
3 797
4 144
5 423
6 378
7 945
Fig. 3. Identification of the proportional stress sp.
66 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72

Fig. 5. Typical experimental s  ε curves at two different frequencies.

In this section, simple expressions are proposed to

model the effect of the strain rate ε_ on the proportional
limit sp and the maximum stress smax. The goal is to use
these expressions to obtain the maximum amount of in-
formation from a minimum number of tests. Only three
compression tests performed at different prescribed
strain rates (_ε ¼ 1:25  103 s1, ε_ ¼ 1:25  102 s1 and
ε_ ¼ 1:25  101 s1) are necessary to estimate the values
of sp and smax in any monotonic compression test per-
formed with a constant strain rate (0 < ε_ 
1:25  101 s1 ).
The following expression is proposed for the propor-
tional limit:
Fig. 6. sp  ε_ curve. Experimental identification of kp and np.
sp ¼ so þ kp ð_εÞnp (4)
where so, kp and np are positive constants that can be
identified using the least squares method. A reasonable strain rate. The admissible range of strain rates is 0 < ε_ 
approximation is obtained by assuming that so is equal to 1:25  101 s1 . Only three compression tests at different
the value of sp identified in a tensile test performed with a strain rates (_ε ¼ 1:25  103 s1, ε_ ¼ 1:25  102 s1 and
constant strain rate less than or equal to ε_ ¼ 1.25  103 s1. ε_ ¼ 1:25  101 s1) enable all the material parameters
Below this strain rate, the variation of the parameter sp is that arise in the theory to be determined.
very small and can be neglected. Fig. 6 presents the The following elasto-viscoplastic constitutive equations
experimental results and the model regression. The values are proposed:
of so, kp and np were 15.0 MPa, 17.1 MPa and 0.196,


respectively. s ¼ E ε  εir (6.1)
The following expression is proposed for the maximum
stress smax:

smax ¼ smax
o þ km ð_εÞnm (5)
where s max
o ,km and nm are positive constants that can be
identified using the least squares method. A reasonable
approximation is obtained by assuming that smax o is equal to
the value of smax identified in a tensile test performed with
a constant strain rate less than or equal to
ε_ ¼ 1.25  103 s1. Below this strain rate, the variation of
the parameter smax is very small and is neglected in the
analysis. Fig. 7 presents the experimental results and the
model prediction. The values of smax
o , km and nm are 26 MPa,
14.76 MPa and 0.28, respectively.

3.3.2. Mechanical modelling of monotonic compression tests

The goal of this section is to propose a phenomenolog-
ical model that is able to predict the s  ε curve in any
monotonic compression test performed with a constant Fig. 7. smax  ε_ curve. Experimental identification of smax
o , km.
 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72 67

 N The parameters a, b and so can be obtained from the

s  X  so
ε_ ir ¼ ; εir ðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (6.2) experimental curve s  εir in a test with
K
ε_ ¼ 1:25  103 s1 , in which the viscous term can be
assumed to be negligible in relation to X. These values can


be identified by fitting the curve given by the following
X ¼ a 1  exp bεir (6.3)
expression using the minimum square technique:
where hxi ¼ max{0,x}. E is the elasticity modulus, and a, b,


K, N and so are positive material constants. εir is the plastic s ¼ a 1  exp bεir þ so (10)
or irreversible parcel of ε. Equation (6.2) presents an evo- A simplified alternative to identify the parameters a, b
lution law for the plastic or irreversible strain. The initial and so would be to consider so ¼ sp and a ¼ smax  sp. In
condition adopted implies that the specimen is virgin (i.e., this case, b would be the slope of the curve log(a þ so  s/
has never undergone inelastic deformations). X is an a)  εir because log(a þ so  s/a) ¼ bεir. Fig. 9 depicts the
auxiliary variable related to the kinematic hardening experimental curve s  εir (_ε ¼ 0.125 s1) and the curve
induced by the irreversible deformation (for a further dis- fitting using Eq. (10), taking so ¼ 15 MPa, a ¼ 11 MPa and
cussion about this auxiliary kinematic hardening variable, b ¼ 3900.
see [19]. To have a complete set of material parameters, it re-
The material constants that appear in the model equa- mains necessary to identify K and N. Thus, it is necessary to
tions are simple to identify experimentally, and the measure the viscous term sv ¼ Kð_εir Þð1=NÞ in at least two
resulting mathematical problem is also simple. The exper- compression tests performed at different strain rates. The
imental identification of the parameters a, b, K, N and so viscous term sv ¼ Kð_εir Þð1=NÞ in a test performed using a
through a minimum number of tests is important to make constant strain rate ε_ can be obtained as follows:
the proposed model equations more practical for use by
designers in engineering problems. sv zsmax  slmax (11)
To understand the main features of the proposed model,
it is interesting to analyse the evolution law (6.2). It is where smax is the maximum stress obtained in the test
possible to verify that ε_ ir ¼ 0 provided that s is less than or performed with the strain rate ε_ , and slmax is the maximum
equal to (X þ so). Therefore, we have stress obtained in the test performed with the strain rate ε_
(which is assumed to be the limit curve - the viscous term is
 N
s  X  so negligible below such a strain rate). For higher values of the
ε_ ir ¼ when ðs  X  so Þ  0 (7) irreversible strain, the viscous term sv ¼ Kð_εir Þð1=NÞ is
K
equivalent to
Hence, s ¼ X þ so þ Kð_εir Þð1=NÞ when (s  X)  0, or

ð1=NÞ
using Eq. (6.3), sv ¼ K ε_ ir zKð_εÞð1=NÞ (12)




ir ð1=NÞ
s ¼ a 1  exp bε ir
þ so þ K ε_ when ðs  XÞ  0 because the curve s  ε is nearly horizontal, and it is
ir

reasonable to assume that s_ z0. Consequently, from

(8)
Equation (6.1) it is possible to conclude that ε_ ir z_ε.
Expression (8) models the curve s  ε , as depicted in ir The parameters K and N that appear in the viscous term
Fig. 8. The term Kð_εir Þð1=NÞ accounts for the dependency of can be identified using the minimum least squares tech-
the curve on the rate ε_ ir and will be called the viscous term. nique, considering Eq. (12) and the experimental sv  ε_ ir
It is easy to verify that expression (6.3) proposed for the curve. K and N can be obtained through a linear regression
auxiliary variable X implies the following relations: analysis on a log-log graph, with 1/N being the slope of the
  line and log(K) being the vertical axis intercept.
dX
limðXÞ ¼ a; lim ¼ ab (9)
εir /N εir /N dεir

Fig. 9. Curve s  εir, ε_ ¼ 1:25  101 s1. Experiments and model

Fig. 8. Typical curve s  εir described by the model. prediction.
68 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72

Fig. 13. Curve s  ε, ε_ ¼ 1:25  101 s1. Experiments and model

Fig. 10. Curve sv  ε_ ir . Model and experiments.
prediction.

Table 4
Model parameters.

E (GPa) so (MPa) a (MPa) b K (MPa, s) N

3.75 15 11 3900 14.28 3.57

for the numerical integration of the following non-linear

differential of ordinary differential equations:


s_ ¼ E at  ε_ ir ; sðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (14.1)

 N
s  X  so
1 ε_ ir ¼ ; εir ðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (14.2)
Fig. 11. Curve s  ε, ε_ ¼ 1:25  10 3
s . Experiments and model prediction. K

X_ ¼ ða  bXÞ_εir ; Xðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (14.3)

 

ð 1 Þ 1

logðsv Þ ¼ log K ε_ ir N ¼ logðKÞ þ log ε_ ir
N
Fig. 10 shows the experimental results and the model
prediction. The values obtained for K and N were 14.28
[MPa, s] and 3.57, respectively. Figs. 11–13 present a com-
parison between the experimental curves and model pre-
diction for various loading rates. The theoretical curves
s  ε were obtained using the material parameters pre-
sented in Table 4 and a fourth-order Runge-Kutta technique
(13) It is important to note that the difference between the
experimental result and model prediction is larger in the
test performed with ε_ ¼ 1:25  103 s1 because the
viscous term for this rate term is not really equal to zero.
3.3.3. Mechanical modeling of cyclic compression tests
It was verified experimentally that even under a very
careful specimen fabrication process and controlled labo-
ratory conditions there is a high scatter of the results in the

Fig. 12. Curve s  ε, ε_ ¼ 1:25  102 s1. Experiments and model

prediction. Fig. 14. Curve s  ε when max(s) < sp.
 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72 69

Fig. 15. Curve s  ε when max(s) > sp and (max(s)  min(s)) < sp. Fig. 17. Energy dissipated in a load cycle.

low-cycle fatigue tests. The goal of this section is not to elastic, as shown in Fig. 14. Experimentally, it is verified that
present a damage model to attempt to predict the fatigue in this case, the fatigue life is generally greater than 10 000
life but to present model equations that explain why such a cycles and does not depend on the loading frequency.
variation of the number of cycles until failure may occur If max(s) > sp but min(s) is very high
even under such extremely controlled testing conditions. (max(s)  min(s) < sp), there will be an initial inelastic
The following elasto-viscoplastic constitutive equations deformation; however, the behavior will stabilize elasti-
are proposed: cally, as illustrated in Fig. 15. In this case, the fatigue is

essentially elastic, and the lifetime will not be affected by
s_ ¼ E ε_  ε_ ir ; sðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (15.1) the loading frequency. Nevertheless, when max(s) > sp and
(max(s)  min(s)) > sp, the ratcheting phenomenon may
occur (see Fig. 16). In this case, at each cycle, energy dissi-
 N pation (per unit volume) will occur corresponding to the
ðs  X  so Þ Sg
ε_ ir ¼ Sg; εir ðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (15.2) area of the curve s  ε in the hysteresis loop (see Fig. 17).
K This area will be larger for lower frequencies. Because the
fatigue damage is related to the energy dissipation at each
cycle and to the accumulated inelastic strain [19], lower
 

X_ ¼ b a_εir  X ε_ ir  ; Xðt ¼ 0Þ ¼ 0 (15.3)
where Sg ¼ 1; if s_  0 and Sg ¼ 1 if s_ < 0. The param-
eters E, so, a, b, K and N are precisely the same as in the
monotonic case. It is possible to verify that this model co-
incides with the one proposed for the monotonic case if
Sg ¼ 1. In this case, if ε_ ir > 0, Eq. (15.3) is equivalent to Eq.
(14.3).
This non-linear initial value problem was solved using
the fourth-order Runge-Kutta technique considering an
imposed triangular load wave shape and two different
frequencies (6.25  103 Hz and 62.5  103 Hz). The
maximum load and minimum load were defined in Eq. (2).
If (sp depends on the loading rate), the behaviour is purely
Fig. 16. s  ε curves for cyclic loadings with max(s) ¼ 27.5 MPa and min(s) ¼ 2.75 MPa. (a) frequency ¼ 6.25  103 Hz and (b) frequency ¼ 62.5  103 Hz.
load frequencies correspond to a higher amount of energy
dissipated per cycle and, therefore, a macro-crack has a
greater probability to initiate at a smaller number of cycles.
This finding also explains why a significant hysteresis
loop is not observed in fatigue tests performed with the
same maximum and minimum load limits, but at very high
frequencies: the irreversible part of the deformation, as
well as the viscous effect, tends to be negligible, and thus
the stress-strain behavior tends to be linear (elastic
behaviour and high cycle fatigue).
A sensitivity analysis allows an assessment of the effect
that changes in a certain material parameter will have on
the fatigue life. The analysis of the model sensitivity to very
small variations of the material parameters provides an
70 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72

Fig. 18. s  ε curves for cyclic loadings with max(s) ¼ 27.5 MPa and min(s) ¼ 2.75 MPa. Frequency ¼ 6.25  103 Hz. (a) so ¼ 15 MPa; (b) so ¼ 0.995  15 MPa; (c)
so ¼ 1.005  15 MPa.

explanation for why there is such large scatter of the
experimental fatigue life even with carefully built speci-
mens tested under highly controlled conditions. Fig. 18
plots three curves obtained by simulating cyclic loading
with frequency in Hz using all the parameters presented in
Table 4 but using three slightly different values for the
parameter so (so ¼ 15 MPa, so ¼ 0.995  15 MPa and
so ¼ 1.005  15 MPa). A small variation of 0.5% is observed
to strongly affect the ratcheting behaviour (and, therefore,
the corresponding fatigue life).
Fig. 19 presents three s  ε curves obtained by simu-
lating cyclic loading with a frequency of 6.25  103 Hz
using all the parameters presented in Table 4, but using
three slightly different values for the parameter a
(a ¼ 11 MPa, a ¼ 0.99  11 MPa and a ¼ 1.01  11 MPa). A
small variation of 1% is also observed to strongly affect the
ratcheting behaviour (and, therefore, the corresponding
fatigue life). Hence, the model equations reflect what is
observed experimentally: even very small variations of
some material properties may cause a large variation in the
ratcheting behaviour and, consequently, in the fatigue life.
This particular system of ordinary differential equations
(Eq. (15)) is highly sensitive to the material parameters. The
difference (or distance) between two solutions obtained
using the same initial conditions, but two slightly different
sets of material parameters, may increase very rapidly as

Fig. 19. s  ε curves for cyclic loadings with max(s) ¼ 27.5 MPa and min(s) ¼ 2.75 MPa. Frequency ¼ 6.25  103 Hz. (a) a ¼ 11 MPa; (b) a ¼ 0.99  11 MPa; (c)
a ¼ 1.01  11 MPa.
 F.J.C. Del Vecchio et al. / Polymer Testing 35 (2014) 62–72
Fig. 20. s  ε curves for cyclic loadings. Frequency ¼ 6.25  103 Hz. (a) max(s) ¼ 27.5 MPa; (b) max(s) ¼ 27.5  1.005 MPa; (c) max(s) ¼ 27.5  0.995 MPa.
t / N. Therefore, the system is unstable in the sense that
two solutions obtained considering the same initial con-
ditions, but two different “close enough” sets of material
parameters will diverge (they do not remain “close
enough” forever).
Such unstable behaviour can also be induced by very
small variations of the maximum stress. Fig. 20 presents
three s  ε curves obtained by simulating cyclic loading
with a frequency of 6.25  103 Hz using all parameters
presented in Table 4 but using three slightly different
values for the maximum stress. As observed in Fig. 20, a
variation of 0.5% of the maximum stress can also strongly
affect the ratcheting behaviour (and, therefore, the corre-
sponding fatigue life). Such dispersion is due to the nature
of the loading (the tests are performed under a prescribed
force history) and due to the low tangent modulus of the
s  ε curve beyond the proportional limit.
4. Conclusions
The plastic behavior and strain rate sensitivity of cylin-
drical polymer mortar specimens in monotonic and cyclic
compression tests are analyzed. The experimental results
indicate elasto-viscoplastic behaviour: the strain rate has
no significant effect on the modulus of elasticity, but has a
strong effect on the maximum stress and proportional
stress.
In cyclic compression tests, when the irreversible or
plastic part of the deformation is not negligible, the fatigue
life will be strongly dependent on the loading type (sinu-
soidal, triangular, etc.) and its frequency. In these cases, a
small variation of the material properties strongly affects
the ratcheting behaviour, which makes very difficult to
make any engineering prediction about the fatigue life.
Because it is impossible to have such precise control of the
properties in this type of composite, the best option is to
avoid using the composite beyond the proportional limit
(which is rate dependent) when possible.
71
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