MECHANISTIC THEORY OF THE LOAD-ELONGATION PROPERTIES OF PAPER - 3. THEORY OF THE TENSILE FAILURE OF PAPER.

The theory proposes that the proportion of active fibers falls off during further straining to failure, and that, in well-bonded handsheets, as few as half as many fibers are active at failure as during elastic straining. Finally, it is suggested that if bond failure during straining prior to sheet failure can be minimized or eliminated, the tensile strength of handsheets could be increased as much as two-fold; this concept remains to be proven. In this third part of a four-part article series, the theory is extended through the actual failure of the sheet. In addition, the equations derived for the elastic modulus, zero-span tensile strength, failure strain, and failure strength are combined into a number of easily-evaluated expressions.