Estimation of Mode I Fracture of U-Notched Polycarbonate Specimens Using the Equivalent Material Concept and Strain Energy Density

Polycarbonate (PC) has a wide range of applications in the electronic, transportation, and biomedical industries. In addition, investigation on applicability to use PC superstrate photovoltaic modules is ongoing research. this paper, envisioned be used as material for structural components renewable energy systems. Usually, have geometrical irregularities, i.e., notches, are subjected severe mechanical loading. Therefore, integrity these shall consider fracture analysis notched specimens. rectangular specimens were machined with straight U-notches having different radii depths. Eight notch depth 6.0 mm tested. three depths radius 3.5 considered. Quasi-static tests performed under displacement-controlled loading speed 5 mm/min. Digital image correlation technique was capture strain fields un-notched It assumed that occurs at onset necking. The equivalent concept (EMC) along density criterion (SED) employed estimate load. EMC-SED combination shown an effective practical tool estimating load U-notched