Journal of Materials Science, Vol.34, No.21, 5181-5185, 1999
Blends of polycarbonate with unmodified and maleic anhydride grafted ABS: fracture mechanics
Physical blends of polycarbonate (PC) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (ABS) at two different weight fractions were made (PC35/ABS65 and P75/ABS25). Reactive blended similar compositions of PC with maleic anhydride grafted ABS (MABS) were also made at the same compositions. The crack resistance behaviour of these two types of blends and feedstocks (PC and ABS) were studied. The generalized locus method was used to investigate the invariance of crack resistance from any set of characteristic points. PC and PC/ABS blends failed immediately after crack initiation. The modified blends (PC/MABS) exhibited failure through crack propagation after crack initiation started. The resistance to crack initiation is determined in terms of critical J-integral value (J(c)). The resistance to crack propagation at maximum load point is also determined from the locus of maximum load point on the load-displacement curves. The resistance to steady state crack growth (R-p) during extensive crack propagation is determined from the total essential energy for a complete fracture. The crack resistance values for modified blends are much high compared to unmodified blends and even feedstocks.