Mechanics of Slitting and Cutting Webs

by R. R. Meehan and S. J. Burns

ABSTRACTwThe quality of edges formed during cutting and slitting of thin polymer webs is important for many industrial applications. To control the edge quality of the separated material, it is necessary to understand cutting. A model is proposed, and the mechanics of cutting are described. Experiments were conducted on polyethylene terephthalate. Photoelastic micrographs were used for qualitative and quantitative observations of the two-dimensional stress distributions. The results of this analysis supported the model for cutting of thin polymer webs. An apparatus was constructed to instrument, monitor and control the web-slitting process. The slitting speed, tension in the web and angle of cut were varied during tests. This allowed a quantitative understanding of the cutting mechanisms to be established. The results of the experiments showed that the in-plane cutting forces were minimally affected by changes in rate or web tension. The angle of cut had a pronounced effect on the in-plane cutting forces and the stability of the cut. The results are a beginning of a mechanistic understanding of deformation taking place during slitting and cutting. The experimentation emphasized an instability in slitting. An understanding of this instability will allow quality web edges with minimal deformation and straight stable cuts to be achieved.

Introduction
The quality of edges formed during cutting and slitting is important for many industrial applications. An ideal slitting or cutting process will form a smooth, clean cut that is perpendicular to the web, leave no debris from the cut, be formed at high speeds, have no deformation in the cut edge, generate no secondary fractures and be both stable and straight. Deformation always occurs during the process of creating a new or fresh surface. Edge deformation and surface quality, including smoothness during slitting, are sometimes a limiting factor in applications of cut or slit webs. Plastic deformation reduces the sharpness of the edge profile and changes the angle between the edge and the web it is cut from, and in turn reduces the amount of surface area which can be used from the web. A slitting process which significantly reduces the deformation and provides a smooth, clean cut will increase the available surface and give a consistent, high-quality area for production processes. Cutting and shear slitting 1-4 are generally associated with fractures.5- 7 Cutting in this context is defined as the ductile separation achieved by forcing a knife or blade through the

material. Shearing and shear cutting are shear forces applied to the surface of a sheet. The stresses from this deformation shear the sheet parallel to the cut. Another deformation component is generally present in shear cutting because the motion of the knife generally has a velocity component perpendicular to the cut line. The stability and quality of these cuts are related to the local stresses at the cut. Overall, fractures and mechanical stability8,9 are very important for precise, stable cutting operations. The applied stresses in a web and the material's response to these stresses dominate the quality of the cut surfaces. A force compression model is proposed. The stresses from this model are found and then described. The stability of the cutting process is analyzed. Understanding the stability and deformation of cutting will hopefully permit an optimization of both edge geometry and surface quality. Edge deformation in turn may be controlled by web parameters such as the web tension, the proximity of web supports, roller surfaces or foundations in the slitting or cutting machines and the local contact radius imposed on the web. Mechanical parameters, such as the sharpness and speed of the knives, and material parameters, such as the orientation of the polymer fibers, the percentage of crystallinity, the rate of deformation, the temperature of the cut, the stress-strain deformation constitutive law and the stress conditions, are notable. Both mechanical and material interactions are important. In this paper, the fundamental mechanics of cutting are modeled. The objective is an understanding of cutting as an operation. The modeling and mechanics of slitting and cutting processes are described in the following sections. An apparatus was constructed to instrument, monitor and control the web slitting/cutting processes. The speed and angle of cut were varied during a cutting operation, allowing a quantitative understanding of the cutting mechanisms to be established. The experimental part of this study is conducted with a widely used polyester web, polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Finally, the results are summarized in the Conclusions.

Cutting Mechanics Compared to Fracture Mechanics

Kinematics Between the Knife and the Web The geometry of a web cut by a circular knife is shown in Fig. 1(a). The web in this example is supported and constrained by the female knife as shown in Fig. l(b). The male knife enters the web at a contact angle c~. The relative velocity of the male knife as seen from the web is the difference of the velocity vectors shown in Fig. l(c). The knives can be driven in a way to allow the male and female velocities to have "ideal" relative velocities; the velocity corn-

R. R. Meehan is a graduate student, and S. J. Burns is Professor, Materials Science Program, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627-0133. Original manuscript submitted: August 18, 199Z Final manuscript received: December 9, 199Z

ExperimentalMechanics 9 103

ponents noted below are the three deformation modes from fracture mechanics. 5-7' 10 The components of the relative velocity vector u correspond to the pure fracture Modes I, II or III for opening, sheafing and anti-plane shear, respectively, as seen in Fig. 2(a). When V is parallel to the web, and the male knife is perpendicular to the web with only opening deformation, the failure is pure Mode I. The second ideal displacement, with a very thin knife entering perpendicular to the web, is Mode II; the cut in the sheet is now opposed by the female knife, so the material shears between the knives. Finally, when the relative knife velocity is parallel to the cut in the sheet with a very thin knife, the motion is Mode III.
Cutting Force

Figure 2(a) shows a crack associated with a cutting force. The crack has well-known stresses near its tip.5-7A~ There is, however, no applied force at the crack tip. The crack tip stresses give rise to a generalized force or configuration force capable of doing work when the crack propagates. 8'11 This generalized force is the strain energy release rate, 12 which is the strain energy released by crack advance and arises from the singular stresses near the crack tip. However, there is no net applied mechanical force when the crack tip is surrounded by a circle and removed for a free-body inspection. In Fig. 2(b), the material is cut by a fracture driven by an applied cutting force F. In this case, F is near the crack tip while it follows the moving crack tip. The mechanical force F is applied by the knife that cuts the web. The applied force from the knife is a real mechanical force. The stresses from this compressive force are quite different from the conventional crack tip stresses. This can be seen immediately by considering a free-body diagram that is constructed from a circle about the tip of the crack in Fig. 2(a) and a second free-body diagram from a circle about the tip of the knife in Fig. 2(b). Both free-body diagrams will have stresses on the boundary defined by the circles. These stresses arise from the stress-free surfaces of the cut and the stress singularity due to the point of the cut. In Fig. 2(b), the sum of the forces due to the stresses on the boundary is balanced by the force F in the direction of the cut. The sum of the forces due to the crack stresses in Fig. 2(a) is zero, since there are no applied forces. The two stress fields are clearly very different. In Fig. 2(b), if the radius of the circle r were doubled, the stresses would be halved, since the resultant force must still be F. It follows that the radial part of the stresses is separable from the angular dependence of the stress field. The radial part of the stresses must decrease as 1/r. The stress field of a crack is known to decrease as 1/~/r in the local crack tip field. The near stress field from the knife or cutting force on the tip of a long slit assuming 1/r stress singularity is found in the next section.
Stress Fields Near a Concentrated Compressive Cutting Force

,/
male knife

,pnn, ii'iil,;l
web t~-,)~

web"
female knife

I
~'~ ~Fcm,dr
9 / ~ ~r~'Femalc Y~rc

(die)

Knlrr

petiole~li i' ic

The mechanics of the material separation is determined by the local stresses near the tip of the cutting knife. The stress field found below is linear elastic, with the knife represented by a line force. The knife tip in this model is assumed to be infinitely sharp, and the details of the stress distribution from the real knife geometry are ignored. Here, the stresses from the applied force are studied, and the local contact stresses are ignored.

Fig. 1--(a) The geometry of a web cut by a circular knife. (b) A schematic representation of the male and female components of a knife. The web being slit moves perpendicular to the diagram. (c) A schematic representation of relative velocity vectors of the knives as seen from the web. The rotational velocities of the knives give the components of V

104 Vol. 38, No. 2, June 1998 9

Mode I f'

ldodr I1 'ira

Mode Ill

Knil'l~

Cutting Force

Fig. 2--(a) Mode I corresponds to crack opening, Mode II is shear and Mode III is anti-plane shearing. (b) A schematic representation of the applied force F at the separation point within the material. The force is parting the material by local deformation and knife tip shearing
Figures 2(a)-(b) have already shown material being separated into two parts. The figures model two individual separation processes. Figure 2(b) has the applied force F at the separation point within the material. The force parts the material by local deformation and knife tip shearing. It was shown above that the general stress field from F decreases as 1/r from the application point of F. In the analysis below, all cutting forces F are the applied forces divided by the web thickness yielding units of force/length. The general solution for stresses that satisfies the Airy biharmonic stress function, restricted to a 1/r stress form, is known 13 and is given by Orr = 2Cl cos(0) - 2c2 sin(0) + c3 cos(0) + c4 sin(0) (1) c3 sin(0) - c4 cos(0) r c3 cos(0) + c4 sin(0) r

This solution is a simple radial stress field. The stresses are compressive ahead of the applied force and tensile behind the point of application of F; they can be considered as the sum of two forces. F / 2 is applied to a half-space in front of the knife to generate a completely compressive field; another half-space behind the blade also has F / 2 applied for a completely tensile field. The two half-spaces are welded together on their stress-free surfaces. The two force components act as a net force F with the stress distribution given above. The solution found here is a Flamant solution [see Ref. 13 (pp. 140-141) and Ref. 14] in that the cutting force is applied to a half-space surface in the solid. The cutting force is also closely related to the radial wedge force solutions of Michell.)5 The elastic wedge in this application contains the full elastic space except for the slit. The stress contours or lines of constant radial compressive and tensile stresses in eq (5) are circles. Cutting is a shearing and fracturing process for creating new surfaces. The shear stresses ahead of the applied force are zero on principal stress planes. The shear is a maximum on planes at -t-u/4 to the principal stresses. All radial elements surrounding the applied force show principal stresses. There is only shear stress on planes that are at -t-~x/4 to the applied force. Thus, the material cannot shear in the direction of the applied force.

Fracture in Diametric Compression

Figure 3 shows two forces to describe when opposing, perfectly aligned sharp knives are cutting through a web. The applied cutting forces F1 and F2 are taken to have the same value F. The separation between the forces is d. These forces are in direct alignment and represent very thin knives in a partial cut through web. Both forces satisfy the boundary conditions for the radial stress solution in eq (5), provided the web is significantly thicker than the distance d. Figure 3 also shows a circle drawn through the point of application of both forces. The triangle formed by the two radial lines constructed from the point forces and the diameter d is a right triangle within the half-circle. Any point on the circumference of the circle, such as P, has two radial stress components, one from the upper force (F1) and one from the lower force (F2). The stress components ~rr (El) and r (F2) are the principal stresses, ~11 and 022, at P as shown in Fig. 3. The sum of the principal components of the stress tensor, (Irr (El) nt- Orr (F2), on the circle is constant as shown below when F1 = F2 = F. The stress tensor on this circle is given in eq (6) and is shown to be constant in eq (8). F [ cos(0t) + cos(02) } 011 q-022 = --'~" 1 r! Y---~ rl -----dcos(01) Oll +o22 = 2F ~xd r2 = dens(e2) (6) (7) (8)

%0 = tree =

(2) (3)

ci are constants, and 0 is measured from the direction of the applied force. There are no surface forces on the slit when 0 = 4-rr, so a0r = ~00 = 0. It follows from eqs (2) and (3) that c3 = c4 = 0. Furthermore, the stress solution is symmetric with 0. Crrr(O) = arr(-O) or from eq (1), c2 = 0. The value of the constant Cl is then determined by balancing the applied force F in the free-body diagram in Fig. 2(b). The radial stresses on the outside of the circle give rise to incremental force components in the direction of F that, after integrating the full circle, equals F. This integration is F = - / 2Cl c~ r r cos(0)d0. (4)

Therefore, the constant Cl and, thus, the stress field are uniquely determined. F 2cl = - - - CrrrF cos(0)
7g r

(5)

01, rl, 02 and r2 are defined in Fig. 3. The consequence of having the principal stress components exactly equal and constant is that the shear stress on all planes is identically zero on the circle. The stress state is a two-dimensional hydrostatic stress on the circle. 16-19 This circle is unique and should be observable in photoelastic experiments because photoelasticity measures the differences between principal stresses.

ExperimentalMechanics 9 105

O' 22

Tension

Compression

Tension

Fig. 4--A photoelastic micrograph of a knife in a polycarbonate sheet. Isochromatic stress lines are observed with a circular polariscope. The stress contours are predicted by eq (5) to be circles
Fig. 3 ~ A schematic representation of two forces to describe when opposing, perfectly aligned, sharp knives are cutting through a web. A circle is drawn through the point of appli-

1 02
t--

Photoelast=c 8o

Stress _~.: .

cation of both forces. Diametrical compression measures the fracture stress of brittle materials Experimental Investigations
Photoe/astic Ana/ysis of Cutting Forces Photoelastic stress analysis is useful for qualitative and quantitative observations of two-dimensional stress distributions. A circular/plane polariscope consisting of a photoelastic bench, a monochromator, a camera, a testing frame and a load cell were used to observe stress fields from an applied, compressive cutting force. A polariscope (Photolasticsa Inc., Malvern, PA, Model 061) with a 30.5-cm field, a straining or loading frame and an in-series load cell was used to observe stresses in polycarbonate samples machined to the shape shown schematically in Fig. 3. The samples were subsequently loaded with steel knives. The knife forces represent the compressive cutting forces described analytically above. The stress optical constant of the material was measured to be 24 kPa/fringe/m in the same loading frame using uniaxial tensile specimens with a calibrated load cell. The force F was applied to the 6.4 mm thick photoelastic sheet through a machined slot that was cut slightly wider than the knife blade. The slot and the steel blades were nominally 6.4 mm wide. Both were cut on the contact end to a constant radius which distributed the applied force over a region and assured elastic behavior close to the interface surface between the knife and polycarbonate. Figure 4, a photoelastic micrograph of the web with the upper knife, shows isochromatic stress lines as observed in a circular polariscope, The stress contours predicted by eq (5) are circles. The predicted stress field is a simple radial stress field. The differences in principal stresses are observed in a circular polariscope and are predicted by eq (5) to be circles. The stress contours in Fig. 4 closely approximate circles. They are symmetric about the slit and in the direction of the applied force. Figure 5 is a quantitative comparison between the photoelastic stresses as determined from the photoelastic fringe number in the micrograph and the position of each fringe when 0 = 0 with eq (5). It is plotted as the force
106 9 Vol. 38, No. 2, June 1998

(D

tO ii U) (D

4O~
0 I

vs e. 1/ Distance from Knif ~

03
I t 1 1

50

100 150 200 250 300 1/(radial distance), 1/meter"

350

Fig. 5--Photoelastic stress provides a quantitative comparison between the photoelastic fringe number and the position of each fringe

measured by the load cell divided by the measured sample thickness versus the distance from the center of the knife. This equation has no adjustable parameters. The comparison between the data and the predicted behavior is very good but not perfect. The finite size of the sample, the radius of the knife tip and the dissimilar elasticity between the steel and the polycarbonate apparently contribute to the differences seen in Fig. 5. Thus, it is clear the knife tip geometry does play a role in the stresses very near to the knife, and the overall stress field is well represented by the analysis presented earlier. The most obvious feature is the circle that contains the diameter d. This circle is shown schematically in Fig. 3. The photoelastic observation is that the isoehromatic zero fringe line is this circle. The analytic prediction was that the difference in principal stresses on the circle would be zero. There should be no photoelastic retardation, and none is observed. A second observation shows that the fringe that makes up the circle is insensitive to stress orientation using isoclinic rotation. Furthermore, this circle is unaffected by the value of the applied force. Other isochromatic fringe lines move when the force increases or decreases, whereas the fringe that makes the circle remains unchanged. This circle, therefore, has no observable shear stresses.

Razor Cutting Apparatus

An apparatus was designed to deliver a long, straight slit to the PET and accurately record the force needed to make the cut. A schematic of the fixture is shown in Fig. 6. The web was transported by suspending an 800 mm length of web over two horizontal rods which were mounted in roller bearings. The roller bearings reduce the friction between the film and rods by allowing the rods to rotate as the film is pulled over them. The rate of cutting was adjustable from llxm/s to 10 mm/s. One end of the film was held in a special attachment, a web clamp mounted to the crosshead of the screw-driven test machine (Instron, Model 1115). The other end of the web was secured to a weight that tensioned the web. A third rod, also mounted in roller bearings, was used to position a cutting-blade holder. It is placed behind the roller rods that suspend the web. At the blade end of the holder, a wire is attached to the load cell (Lebow, Model 3108) (5 lbs). The load cell was mounted at the top of the test fame. The rod connected to the blade holder turns freely, which allows the cutting force F to be measured accurately. The load cell signal was amplified by a DC conditioner (Daytronics, Model 3270). The amplified signal from the load cell was read by an A - > D interface (MetraByte Corp., Model 8902) and collected by a computer (IBM, Model 70) (386 chip) and processed using a commercial software package.

weight attached to the free end at a selected web tension. The position of the blade in the blade holder was adjusted to the desired cutting-blade angle a [see Fig. l(c)]. The crosshead rate was selected to transport the web against the knife blade and cut the PET. The cutting force was transmitted by the wire to the load cell. Several parameters were studied to determine the effects that each had on the slitting process. 1. The rate of the slitting process could be varied over a wide range by selecting different crosshead speeds. This rate could be changed during a test of the slitting process. 2. The weight suspended from the web was adjusted to vary the web tension. This provided a large range of tensions in the web. 3. The angle of the blade in the material as it slit could be rotated nearly through 90 deg by changing the position of the blade in the holder (see Fig. 6). The actual slit in the web was approximately 480 mm long. The graphics package allowed for the force versus distance graph of each slit test to be plotted so it mapped very closely to the actual web slit. The location of irregular cutting-force phenomena in the web surfaces could be identified easily.
Results

Experimental Methods
The crosshead of the test machine was adjusted until the blade was close to the web holder. The web, measured as 104 4- 21xm, was placed over the front two rollers with the

Cutting Force Versus Distance Curve

The cutting rate was varied during the slitting process, and the changes in the cutting-force curve were measured. Figure 7 is an example of several experiments in which the rate parameter was varied. The fluctuation of the force about the average value was very small. Figure 7 starts with the blade in the web at the constrained end by the web clamp; as the length of the slit progresses, the cutting-force curve asymptotes to a steady-state value. The web is less constrained in the latter part of the curve. Figure 7 shows that the cutting force for the entire length of the slit is only slightly affected by the cutting rate. The faster curve has more scatter about the average value. The farther the slit progresses, the more pronounced the variability of the data scatter is. An explanation for the scatter in the data is that the web is unstable as the blade cuts it. At the beginning of the process, the web rollers and clamp provide some stability for the web. As the knife moves through the web, it is less constrained and less stable. This decreasing constraint results in a more unstable cut, which is represented in the force data as experimental oscillations. The tension of the web was changed to determine its effect on the cutting-force curve. The weight suspended from the web is proportional to the web tension. Figure 8 shows the results of increasing web tension. The increasing web tension seemed to have minor effects on the cutting-force curve and does not appear to provide more stability to the web as it is slit. The blade angle e~from Fig. 6 was changed to measure its effect on the cutting-force curve. With the blade perpendicular to the web, et = 90 deg, the web moved from left to right 4-0.5 mm and in and out +10 nun perpendicular to the motion of the blade during the slit. The web was very difficult to cut when the blade position was oriented perpendicular to the web plane. Figure 9 shows the curves recorded over a wide range of cutting rates. The peak forces are the points

LoadCell

RollerFrame

Wire

Rod in RollerBearing
J _

/u ,(A
Rod in RollerBearing
Su'aJn Gages

Weight

i/

9 .--- PET Web

E
PETWe b Holder
I

Web Clamp

CrossheadMovesDown DuringSlitling Crosshead

I

Fig. 6--A schematic representation of the slitting machine. A load cell mounted above the blade measures the cutting force parallel to the web being slit. Strain gages mounted on the blade holder measure cutting force perpendicular to the web. The web was pulled over rollers mounted in roller bearings past the blade by the crosshead. The tension was controlled by a mass suspended from the web

ExperimentalMechanics 9 107

3~ I
20

10.turn/see

1.mm/sec
~ 2o
0.1 m m / s e c 3o ,o

oO, l i "~
40

I .O mm/nc

20

,.o

2O

10
40
I i I l I t .... + I

ram/sea

30 20

1 O0

200

300

4.00

500

Distance (ram)

Fig. 7--The slitting rate was varied for each test, with the blade maintained constant. The cutting force was unaffected by changes in slitting rate
40

50 40 30 20 10 0 -10
'

j ~ ~ O |

mm/llc

nsver~e Force

30

0.1 8 MPo

1O0

20

300 Distance(mm)

200

400

500

0.38 MPo
30

20

Fig. 9--The cutting force with the blade angle perpendicular to the web. The slitting rate was varied for each test. Transverse force results are included atthe bottom ofthe plot. The cutting force goes through distinct cycles as the web is slit. The cycles were unaffected by changes in the slitting rate Conclusions

O.g7 ~Pa 3O

20

10

-10

~1

1 O0

200 300 Distanc 9 (mm~

400

O0

Fig. 8--The tension in the web was varied for each test, with the blade angle and slit rate maintained constant. The cutting force shows minor changes with the web tension

at which the web changed lateral directions on the blade and the web moved in and out of plane, which changed the local blade angle. The cutting force decreases when the web's direction reverses. The results of the blade angle tests showed that slitting is an unstable process. There is a force component through the thickness and parallel to the cutting edge of the blade. This force results in out-of-plane web motion.
108 =

From the stress analysis, photoelastic observations and cutting-curve measurements, the following conclusions can be made. The rate at which the material is slit appears to have minor effects on the measured cutting-force curve and its stability. The tension in the web has minimal effects on the cutting force. The blade angle has a major effect on the cutting force and the stability of the web by providing out-ofplane constraint. If the blade angle is oriented perpendicular to the web, cutting is very difficult. These results are a beginning of a mechanistic understanding of deformation taking place during the slitting and cutting processes. Our experimentation has emphasized the instability in the deformation mechanisms which control cutting and slitting processes. The instability might be due to elastic buckling in front of the blade combined with plasticity.20,21 Both processes are dominated by out-of-plane compliance of the web and supports; the female knife will partially stabilize the web. Instability is the direction of our future investigations. Hopefully, with understanding, the stability can be manipulated and negated to achieve quality web edges with minimal edge deformation and straight, stable cuts.

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Douglas Kedl and William Dudley for their continuing encouragement and suggestions on

VoL 38, No. 2, June 1998

this problem. We are also very grateful to 3M for financial support. Finally, Emily Hackett and Duncan Callaway have provided invaluable assistance on the photoelastic observations.
References
1. Feiler, M., "Ein beitrag zur Klarang der Vorgange beim Schneiden duunerflachiger Materialen," Ph.D. thesis, TechnischeHochschule, Stuttgart (1970). 2. Bollen, D., Deneir, J., Aernoudt, E., and Muffle, W., "Shear Cutting of PET Film," J. Mat. Sci., 24, 2957-2966 (1989). 3. Tack, L., "'Hetschaarsnijden van pet-fim: Spannings-en vervormingsanalyse," Ph.D. thesis, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven (1986). 4. Roisum, D.R., The Mechanics of Winding, TAPPI, Atlanta, GA, 175-180 (1994). 5. Lawn, B., Fracture of Brittle Solids, 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 20-50 (1993). 6. Anderson, ZL., Fracture Mechanics Fundamentals and Applications, 2nd ed., CRC, Boca Raton, FL, 101-116 (1995). 7. Knott, J.E, Fundamentals of Fracture Mechanics, Butterworth, London (1973). 8. Burns, S.J., Pollet, J.C., and Chow, C.L., "Nonlinear Fracture Mechanics," Int. J. Fract., 14, 311 (1978). 9. Burns, S.J., "Applications of Thermodynamics to Fracture," Proc. Conf. Environmental Degradation of Engineering Materials, September 1981, ed. M.R. Louthan, R.P. McNitt and R.D. Sisson, Laboratory for the Study of Environmental Degradation of Engineering Materials, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, BIacksburg, 543 (1981).

10. Rice, J.R., "Mathematical Analysis in the Mechanics of Fracture," Fracture, ed. H. Liebowit~ Vol. 2, Ch. 3, Academic Press, New York, 191-311 (1968). 11. Rice, J.R., "A Path Independent Integral and the Approximate Analysis of Strain Concentration by Notches and Cracks," J. Appl. Mech., 35, 379 (1968). 12. Irwin, G.R., "Fracture,"Handbuch der Physik, Springer- Verlag, Berlin, 551 (1958). 13. Barber, J.R., Elasticity, Kluwer Academic, Norwell, MA, 83-95 (1992). 14. FIamant, Paris Compt. Rend., 114, 1465 (1892). 15. MichelL J.H., "The Inversion of Plane Stress," Proc. Lon. Math. Soc., 34, 134 (1901). 16. American Society for Testing and Materials, "Standard Test Method for Compressive Strength of Dimension Stone," American Society for Testing and Materials, Philadelphia, PA, 4, C-170 (1994). 17. Claussen, N., "On the Application of the Diametral-compression Testfor Determination of Tensile Strength, Young's Modulus and Poisson's Ratio of Ceramics and Cermets," Materialpruf, 9, 140 (1967). 18. Shipway, P.H. and Hutchings, LM., "Fracture of Brittle Spheres Under Compression and Impact Loading: L Elastic Stress Distributions," Phil. Mag., A 67, 1389-1404 (1993). 19. Shipway, P.H. and Hutchings, I.M., "Fracture of Brittle Spheres Under Compression and Impact Loading: 11. Results for Lead Glass and Sapphire Spheres," Phil. Mag., A 67, 1405-1421 (1993). 20. Bhushan, B., Mechanics and Reliability of Flexible Magnetic Media, Springer-Verlag, New York, 131 (1992). 21. Chieu, H.C., Burns, S.J., Fiscella, M.D., and Benson, R.C., "A New Model for Deformation Kinetics of Polyethylene Terephthalate Films," J. MacromoIecular Sci.-Phys. B, 33, 87 (1994).

Experimental Mechanics 9 109