Evaluation on fatigue crack growth behavior with microstructure and multiscale-failure characteristics of perfluorinated sulfonic-acid ionomer

Cao, X, Li, W, Jin, Y, Hu, Z, Sun, C, Serjouei, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7250-4131, Cai, L and Song, P, 2026. Evaluation on fatigue crack growth behavior with microstructure and multiscale-failure characteristics of perfluorinated sulfonic-acid ionomer. Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 332: 111811. ISSN 0013-7944

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Abstract

Fatigue crack growth (FCG) is a critical mode of performance degradation and failure in perfluorinated sulfonic-acid ionomers. However, the underlying damage mechanisms associated with microstructure and failure characteristics are not yet well understood. To address this gap, the FCG behavior of a PFSA membrane was investigated through a combined theoretical, numerical, and multiscale experimental approach, encompassing microscopic fracture morphology, mesoscopic crack tip stress distribution, and macroscopic FCG rate. The results show that FCG exhibits a progressive failure mechanism, primarily characterized by features such as microvoid nucleation and coalescence in high-stress regions, as along with step-like morphology on the fracture surface. Analysis of the mesoscopic crack tip strain field revealed distinct strain gradient effects and butterfly-shaped plastic zone, both of which intensify with increasing stress ratio. An anisotropic viscoelastic-plastic constitutive model, incorporating stress status, was integrated with a cyclic cohesive zone model to establish a progressive fatigue damage framework. This model effectively captured strain distribution near the crack tip and reproduced the observed FCG rates. Finally, a multiscale validation method established the correlation between macroscopic mechanical response and microscopic damage evolution. These findings reveal the multiscale characteristic of fatigue failure in PFSA ionomers and contribute to a more comprehensive framework for understanding their fracture mechanisms.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Engineering Fracture Mechanics
Creators:	Cao, X., Li, W., Jin, Y., Hu, Z., Sun, C., Serjouei, A., Cai, L. and Song, P.
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date:	7 February 2026
Volume:	332
ISSN:	0013-7944
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1016/j.engfracmech.2025.111811 DOI 2547803 Other
Rights:	© 2025. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Divisions:	Schools > School of Science and Technology
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	06 Jan 2026 08:41
Last Modified:	06 Jan 2026 08:41
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54920

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