Toughening of highly crosslinked epoxy resins by reactive blending with bisphenol A polycarbonate. II. Yield and fracture behavior

The yield and fracture behavior of highly crosslinked epoxy resin modified by a reactive blending process carried out in the presence of bisphenol A polycarbonate has been studied. It was found that the fracture toughness of this blend system increases markedly with increasing PC content in the blend. Scanning electron microscopy of the fractured surfaces indicated a crack blunting mechanism as the main source of energy dissipation in the various investigated blend compositions. No evidence of phase separation of the minor component during the curing and postcuring steps was observed. The yield data were correlated with the fracture toughness data to evaluate the extent of crack-tip blunting. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.