A Proposed System for Temperature Measurement During Tensile Testing

Integration of thermographic imaging with in situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis may aid in quantifying thermal-mechanical behavior during tensile testing of 3D-printed polymers, which gives information about fracture mechanics, including the associated thermal phenomena. Upon fracture, samples exhibit changes in the thermal field, which is interesting because temperature fluctuations can affect material integrity. The paper introduces printing parameters to demonstrate a thermal measurement system's sensitivity in detecting variations in mechanical response due to controlled changes in the process. Employing scientific methods, one can extrapolate results to a wider class of materials such as thermoplastics. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is key in the design of experiments (DOE) if one wants to analyze the effect of factors and interactions. It has been used with the purpose of reducing the risk of type I errors (i.e., false positives). The finite element method (FEM) highlights temperature distribution in the area of interest and confirms recorded data. The particularly developed research experiments are carried out in a laboratory environment. Different samples are subjected to tensile tests under the evaluation of changes in the thermal field. SEM analysis is also widely used in fracture analysis to understand failure modes (ductile vs. brittle, crazing, delamination, and others). Thus, the paper aims to present a custom setup comprised a thermal camera pointed at samples during tensile testing that would serve as a reliable assessment system that accounts for the substitution of a sensor-based environment but is still fully capable of validating the measurement approach.