Constitutive theory for mechanics of amorphous thermoplastic polymers under extreme dynamic loading

[2602.07289] Constitutive theory for mechanics of amorphous thermoplastic polymers under extreme dynamic loading Skip to main content Search Submit Donate Log in Condensed Matter > Materials Science arXiv:2602.07289 (cond-mat) [Submitted on 7 Feb 2026] Title: Constitutive theory for mechanics of amorphous thermoplastic polymers under extreme dynamic loading Authors: John D. Clayton View PDF HTML (experimental) Abstract: A geometrically nonlinear continuum mechanical theory is formulated for deformation and failure behaviors of amorphous polymers. The model seeks to capture material response over a range of loading rates, temperatures, and stress states encompassing shock compression, inelasticity, melting, decomposition, and spallation. Thermoelasticity, viscoelasticity, viscoplasticity, ductile failure with localized shear yielding, and brittle fracture with crazing can all emerge under this ensemble of intense loading conditions. Known prior theories have considered one or more, but not all, such physical mechanisms. The present coherent formulation invokes thermodynamics with internal state variables for dynamic molecular and network configurational changes affecting viscoelasticity and plastic deformation, and it uses order parameters for more abrupt structural changes across state-dependent glass-transition and shock-decomposition thresholds. A phase-field order parameter captures material degradation from ductile or brittle fracture, including evolving porosity from crazing. The theory is applied toward polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) under intense dynamic loading. The high-pressure equilibrium response, with shear strength and temperature over known ranges, is well represented along the principal Hugoniot to pressures far exceeding shock decomposition. Predicted release wave velocities agree with experiment. A semi-analytical solution for steady waves describes the relatively lower-pressure viscoelastic setting, providing insight into relaxation times. One-dimensional calculations assess suitability of the model for representing spall fracture strengths seen in experiments over a range of initial temperatures and loading rates. Comments: 66 pages, 9 figures Subjects: Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci) MSC classes: 74J40 (Primary), 74A45, 74B20, 74C20, 74R20 (Secondary) Cite as: arXiv:2602.07289 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] (or arXiv:2602.07289v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci] for this version) https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2602.07289 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite Journal reference: Journal of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids, Vol. 217, Art. 106805, 2026 Related DOI : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmps.2026.106805 Focus to learn more DOI(s) linking to related resources Submission history From: John Clayton [ view email ] [v1] Sat, 7 Feb 2026 00:41:23 UTC (6,924 KB) Full-text links: Access Paper: View PDF HTML (experimental) TeX Source view license Current browse context: cond-mat.mtrl-sci < prev | next > new | recent | 2026-02 Change to browse by: cond-mat References & Citations SciX Google Scholar Semantic Scholar export BibTeX citation Bookmark Bibliographic Tools Bibliographic and Citation Tools Bibliographic Explorer Toggle Bibliographic Explorer ( What is the Explorer? ) Connected Papers Toggle Connected Papers ( What is Connected Papers? ) Litmaps Toggle Litmaps ( What is Litmaps? ) scite.ai Toggle scite Smart Citations ( What are Smart Citations? ) Code, Data, Media Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article alphaXiv Toggle alphaXiv ( What is alphaXiv? ) Links to Code Toggle CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers ( What is CatalyzeX? ) DagsHub Toggle DagsHub ( What is DagsHub? ) GotitPub Toggle Gotit.pub ( What is GotitPub? ) Huggingface Toggle Hugging Face ( What is Huggingface? ) ScienceCast Toggle ScienceCast ( What is ScienceCast? ) Demos Demos Replicate Toggle Replicate ( What is Replicate? ) Spaces Toggle Hugging Face Spaces ( What is Spaces? ) Spaces Toggle TXYZ.AI ( What is TXYZ.AI? ) Related Papers Recommenders and Search Tools Link to Influence Flower Influence Flower ( What are Influence Flowers? ) Core recommender toggle CORE Recommender ( What is CORE? ) IArxiv recommender toggle IArxiv Recommender ( What is IArxiv? ) Author Venue Institution Topic About arXivLabs arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website. 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