Mechanical Properties of Nanotextiles Determined with Digital Image Correlation

The paper is devoted to the assessment of mechanical properties of nanotextiles prepared from polyvinylalcohol by electrospinning. The nanotextile is composed of a multi-layered net of cross-linked fibers with individual diameters of approx. 200-500 nm. Strips of the textiles were tested in a standard electromechanical testing device by uniaxial tension. Precise local strain measurement was provided by the digital image correlation method. The overall nanotextile Young's modulus was found to be 277±9 MPa (for strains <1%) and exhibited small variations as well as ultimate strength (10.3±0.9 MPa at ~13% strain). The deformation mechanism includes alignment and stretching of the fibers in longitudinal (load) direction (initial linear part), yielding with transversal textile smoothing and textile rupture (at strains ~13%). The progress of apparent Poisson's ratio (5.5-0.52) was also monitored with the digital image correlation.