Application of Time-Temperature-Stress Superposition Principle to Nonlinear Creep of Poly(methyl methacrylate)

The uniaxial tensile creep of a commercial grade Poly(methyl methacrylate) was measured for 4000 seconds under various temperatures and stress levels ranging from 14 oC to 26 oC and 6 MPa to 32 MPa. The resultant creep compliance curves depart from each other for stresses beyond a critical value which varies with temperature, indicating nonlinear viscoelastic behavior. The time-temperature-stress superposition principle (TTSSP) was used to construct a smooth master compliance curve with a much longer time-scale interval from the short-term tests at higher stresses and temperatures. It is shown that the master curve covers a period of over 290 days, which is nearly 3.9 decades longer than the test duration. Moreover, it is verified that the time-temperature shift factors are dependent on stresses at which the shifts are applied, and that the time-stress shift factors are dependent on reference temperatures.