SEDL / STP / STP936-EB / STP19382S

Effects of Test Rate and Temperature on Fracture Behavior of Some Rubber-Modified Polymers

Gaggar, SK
Staff scientist, Borg-Warner Chemicals, Inc., Washington, WV

Pages: 12    Published: Jan 1986

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Abstract

The fracture behavior of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) and rubber-modified polyvinyl chloride (PVC) at various test temperatures and test rates was studied. The ductile-brittle transitions, in terms of test rate and test temperature, were established in each case, and the effects of material structural parameters on such transitions were studied. In modified PVC it is shown that the presence of the rubber modifier causes a shift of the ductile-brittle transition of unmodified PVC to a higher test rate at a given test temperature. The presence of an elastomeric phase in ABS induces a ductile failure mode in an otherwise brittle matrix over a broad range of test rates and temperatures. The ductile-brittle transition in ABS shifts to lower test temperatures as the rubber level is increased.