Abstract
In this paper, a methodology to evaluate the dynamic fracture toughness of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is presented. The proposed methodology is based on a hybrid-numerical formulation and requires the evaluation of the dynamic stress intensity factor along the experimentally measured dynamic crack fronts, and the three-parameter Weibull stress model for brittle fracture. The apparent fracture toughness master curves are determined for Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimens of PMMA with different thickness. Keywords: dynamic fracture toughness, polymethyl methacrylate, Weibull master curve