Mechanical Behavior of Polyurethane Polymer Materials under Triaxial Cyclic Loading: A Particle Flow Code Approach

Abstract

Polyurethane polymer grouting materials were studied with conventional triaxial tests via the particle flow code in two dimensions (PFC_2D) method, and the simulation results agreed with the experimental data. The particle flow code method can simulate the mechanical properties of the polymer. The triaxial cyclic loading tests of the polymer material under different confining pressures were carried out via PFC_2D to analyze its mechanical performance. The PFC_2D simulation results show that the value of the elastic modulus of the polymer decreases slowly at first and fluctuated within a narrow range near the value of the peak strength; the cumulative plastic strain increases slowly at first and then increases rapidly; the peak strength and elastic modulus of polymer increase with the confining pressure; the PFC_2D method can be used to quantitatively evaluate the damage behavior of the polymer material and estimate the fatigue life of the materials under fatigue load based on the number and the location of micro-cracks. Thus, the PFC_2D method is an effective tool to study polymers.

Keywords

polymer / particle flow code / cyclic loading / elastic modulus / micro-cracks / axial strain

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