FRACTURE-BEHAVIOR AND MORPHOLOGY OF PC/ABS BLENDS

The toughness behaviour of polycarbonate (PC)/acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) blends under dynamical loading (1 m s-1) based on the J-integral concept was studied. For this the multiple specimen R-curve method was used. A special experimental technique of a stop block method was developed. It was shown that the materials exhibit a very different toughness behaviour depending on temperature and ABS content. The reasons for this material behaviour are discussed with the help of scanning and transmission electron microscopical (SEM and TEM) investigation methods, It can be shown that a combination of fracture mechanics and electron microscopy allows a toughness optimization to be made on the basis of quantitative morphology toughness correlations.