Determination of Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model parameters for failure of a polymeric material

In this work, the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model, commonly used for metallic materials, is applied to the failure of a polymeric material-specifically a polyethylene carbon monoxide copolymer, which is an enhanced photodegradable material. Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model parameters for this material are obtained using the Nelder-Mead simplex method when correlating experimental and numerical results of both tensile and fracture specimens. Results show that the Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman model can also be used for polymeric materials with selection of proper parameters that are quite different from the ones proposed for metallic materials.