Journal of Materials Science, Vol.34, No.8, 1775-1781, 1999
Enhancement of crack propagation resistance in epoxy resins by introducing poly(dimethylsiloxane) particles
The physical and mechanical properties of polyepoxy DGEBA/DDA/Diuron networks toughened with Poly(dimethylsilorane) particles have been studied. Blends have been realized with two kinds of dispersion tools: a high-speed stirrer and a twin-screw extruder. The dispersion state quality is discussed using transmission spectroscopy image analysis. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) suspension in an epoxy prepolymer was used as a toughening agent. Different particle quantities were introduced: 4, 8, 15% by weight. Static mechanical tests were performed in tension and compression on these poly(dimethylsilorane) modified materials. A slight decrease of Young's modulus and an increase in plastic deformation capacity were noticed as the volume fraction of the modifier increased. Using linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM), an improvement in the fracture properties (K-IC, Glc) was shown. Fatigue crack growth propagation studied for the blends demonstrated that the Paris law can be used to describe the behavior of the materials. Increasing the volume fraction of the modifier leads to an improvement of fatigue crack propagation resistance. Finally a decrease in the wear rate and the friction coefficient with the increase of particle quantities has been shown tin a pin on disk configuration). Toughening mechanisms are discussed with SEM fracture surfaces.