Issue 77

T. Hachimi et alii, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 77 (2026) 173-206; DOI: 10.3221/IGF-ESIS.77.11

Mechanical characterization and crack propagation in Additively Manufactured Polymers using Digital Image Correlation: a review

Hachimi Taoufik Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS), Moulay Ismaïl University, BP. 3104, Toulal, Meknes, Morocco Laboratory of Nuclear, Atomic, Molecular, Mechanical and Energetic Physics, University Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco Hachtaoufik@gmail.com, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3567-8511 Zekriti Najat, Ait Hmazi Fouad, Bagar Hamza, El Assad Hatim, Naboulsi Nassima Laboratory of Nuclear, Atomic, Molecular, Mechanical, and Energetic Physics, University Chouaib Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco Najat.ze@hotmail.fr

Aithmazi.f@ucd.ac.ma, https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6919-5540 Bagar.h@ucd.ac.ma, Hatimelassad2@gmail.com, Naboulsi.n@ucd.ac.ma

Citation: Hachimi, T., Zekriti, N., Ait Hmazi, F., Bagar, H, El Assad, H., Naboulsi, N., Mechanical characterization and crack propagation in Additively Manufactured Polymers using Digital Image Correlation: a review, Fracture and Structural Integrity, 77 (2026) 173-206.

A BSTRACT . While Additive Manufacturing (AM) of polymers has matured from rapid prototyping to functional production, the layer-wise fabrication process introduces significant mechanical anisotropy and microstructural heterogeneity, which complicates conventional mechanical characterization. This review examines the applicability of Digital Image Correlation (DIC) as a full-field, non-contact metrological tool for mapping strain with sub-pixel precision across three domains: (1) the fundamental metrological principles of DIC applied to anisotropic AM structures, (2) a critical synthesis of DIC applications in tensile, fracture, fatigue, and impact testing, and (3) emerging advances in data acquisition, including in-situ monitoring and AI-driven frameworks. DIC uniquely enables the direct visualization of localized strain concentrations at filament interfaces and non-ideal crack propagation paths that conventional point-wise sensors obscure. Technological maturation is increasingly driven by Deep DIC frameworks and neural operators ( DisplacementNet, StrainNet), which now integrate with automated defect tracking systems. Furthermore, multimodal approaches combining DIC with Acoustic Emission (AE) and Micro-Computed Tomography (µ-CT), alongside volumetric Digital Volume Correlation (DVC), extend damage characterization from surface observations to internal defect evolution. To support industrial certification in safety-critical sectors, the community must adopt standardized metrological baselines, including the Metrological Efficiency Indicator (MEI) and the iDICs Good Practices Guide. These

Received: 11.04.2026 Accepted: 24.04.2026 Published: 25.04.2026 Issue: 07.2026

Copyright: © 2026 This is an open access article under the terms of the CC-BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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