Fractal character of crack propagation in epoxy and epoxy composites as revealed by photon emission during fracture

Abstract

We examine the photon emission accompanying rapid crack growth in an unfilled epoxy resin and in the same resin filled with alumina particles. The alumina particles substantially increase the toughness of the material and increase the photon emission intensities at least tenfold. We attribute the increased photon emission in the filled material to high densities of broken bonds near the alumina particles. The photon emission signals from both filled and unfilled materials show nonintegral (fractal) dimensions which are insensitive to the presence of the particles at the level of precision employed. Fractal dimension measurements of the fracture surfaces are likewise relatively insensitive to the presence of the filler, despite marked variations in apparent surface roughness. The photon emission signals were examined for the presence of chaos. Computations of the correlation exponent of Grassberger and Procaccia indicate that the photon emission fluctuations are not noise-like in character, and suggest deterministic chaos. Lyapunov exponent estimates on photon emission signals confirm the presence of chaotic processes. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron microscopy of the fracture surface indicate very little interfacial failure; i.e., fracture proceeds predominantly through the epoxy matrix in both filled and unfilled materials. Consequently, the character of the polymer matrix dominates the fracture process and therefore determines the fractal nature of the surface and the chaotic nature of the photon emission intensities in each material.