Toughness of a polymer is a key material property for energy absorbing capability for various engineering applications. Significant effort has been made to improve toughness of a polymer and hence increase the energy absorbing capability; typically rigid-particles in thermoplastics or rubbery modifiers in a brittle polymer matrix. The focus of this study is to investigate toughening mechanisms of a thermoplastic polymer composite. Micron-size thermoplastic particle reinforced polycarbonate (PC) composite materials was fabricated via a solution mixing method. The mechanical properties of the polymer composites were characterized in tensile testing while the acoustic emission was monitored to assess the material failure modes during the tensile test. Substantial improvement in tensile toughness was observed for the polymer composites and the toughening mechanisms responsible for the improvement were identified and quantified for each contribution to the observation.

Date Published: 30 April 2012
PDF: 6 pages
Proc. SPIE 8342, Behavior and Mechanics of Multifunctional Materials and Composites 2012, 83420T (30 April 2012); doi: 10.1117/12.914984

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8342:
Behavior and Mechanics of Multifunctional Materials and Composites 2012
Nakhiah C. Goulbourne; Zoubeida Ounaies, Editor(s)