Investigation into the Mechanical Characteristics of a Conventional Arc-shaped PVC Sample

Our work consists of conducting a numerical modeling study on a slender PVC arc-shaped specimen with an internal notch (defect) within the arc, subjected to uniaxial loading at different ratios (a/w). The numerical results obtained allowed us to analyze the influence of this ratio (a/w) on the plastic deformations that occur at the notch. To carry out this work, we relied on the ASTM E399-90 (1997) standard to obtain a standardized specimen and to determine stress concentrations at crack points.Through the obtained results, we observed that plastic deformation confined at the crack tip propagates along the ligament as the ratio (a/w) increases. Additionally, we noticed that the ratio a/w=0.55 yields insignificant results, suggesting that this ratio may represent a critical value for defects in polymer conduits.