Effect of Repair Processing on Energy Absorption of Pre-Crack-Initiated Leather

Recently, the petroleum-based leather is focused for constituent material of wall in luxury architecture. This study examined the effect of repair processing on energy absorption of pre-crack-initiated leather for long-term use of products. Constituent materials at front and back sides of leather were, respectively, polyurethane and polyester. Tensile tests of non and pre-crack-initiated leather were conducted under constant temperature and humidity room. The crosshead speed was 100 mm/min. The repair processing was conducted by a hot-press molding method. The crack length was 4 mm. The patch size was 10 mm long and 10 mm wide. The following conclusions were obtained. Typical load-displacement curves of all leathers became nonlinear. The energy absorption of non-crack-initiated leather was higher than that of repaired leather. After some repair processing, the energy absorption of the repaired leather at bonding between polyester (Patch) and polyurethane showed the maximum value. But the fiber pull-out on fracture surface of repaired leather at bonding between polyester (patch) and polyurethane was found during tensile test. The crack initiation depends on energy absorption of leather. Therefore, the energy absorption of pre-crack-initiated leather was property affected by stress distribution and adhesion property at the repair area.