Characterization and Modeling of the Deformation and Failure Behavior of Neat Thermoplastic Homopolymers under Impact Loading Conditions

The increasing use of thermoplastic polymers in structural applications exposed to impact loading conditions drives the need of accurate and reliable FEM simulations. Classical elasto-plastic formulations are based on the von Mises yield criterion and only of limited suitability for modeling polymers. Advanced material models become necessary to capture the complex mechanical deformation and damage behavior. However, the experimental effort is significantly higher to provide material input data. The objective of this study was the modeling of the deformation and damage behavior of thermoplastic homopolymers under monotonic and impact loading conditions with the commercial FEM code LS-Dyna. For this purpose, the use of the material model SAMP-1 and the damage model GISSMO for a Polypropylene and a Polycarbonate grade was investigated.