Characteristics of stretching of high-impact polystyrene and polycarbonate close to the glass transition temperature

A study has been made of the stress-strain characteristics of high-impact composites based on poly sty renes (PS) or polycarbonates (PC) in uniaxial stretching at temperatures close to the glass transition temperature of the matrix material Heterogeneity of the structure of the material at the microlevel, owing to the presence of a graft copolymer in the PS composites or the presence of polyethylene terephthalate (a reactive additive) in the PC, tends to lower the effective glass transition temperature as determined at high elongations. Weak interaction of the impact-strength modifiers with the matrix material (determining the heterogeneity of the structure at the macrolevel) results in a lower stability of uniform stretching in the region of the high-elastic state, but increases the values of the elongation at break in the transition region from the glassy state to the high-elastic state. From the standpoint of achieving high strength and deformability of high-impact composites during their processing, the structure should be organized so as to provide optimal heterogeneity at both the microlevel and macrolevel.Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 31, No. 4, pp. 509–517, July–August, 1995.