Experimental study on uniaxial time-dependent ratcheting of a polyetherimide polymer

The uniaxial ratcheting behavior of a polyetherimide (PEI) polymer ‘TECAPEI’ was studied using stress-controlled cyclic loading at room temperature, including both cyclic tension-compression with non-zero tensile mean stress and tension-unloading tests. The experimental observations were focused on the time-dependent ratcheting of the PEI polymer revealed in cyclic tests at diverse stress rates and with different peak stress holding times. The results showed that the PEI polymer shows obvious ratcheting deformation; i.e., the ratcheting strain accumulates progressively in the tensile direction during stress-controlled cyclic tests with non-zero mean stress. The ratcheting is highly dependent on the applied mean stress and stress amplitude, and is also characterized by a strong time-dependency during the cyclic stressing at diverse stress rates and with different peak stress holding times. The time-dependent ratcheting of the PEI polymer is caused mainly by its remarkable viscosity. A comparison of the ratcheting occurring before and beyond the ultimate stress point of the PEI polymer showed that the ratcheting beyond the ultimate stress point is more significant than that occurring before that point.