Binary and ternary blends of PC, ABS, and PMMA were studied. The blends were produced from original and recycled materials by melt mixing in a wide range of compositions. Instrumented Charpy impact testing, tensile testing, rheology investigations, and electron microscopy were carried out to determine the relationship between the deformation and fracture behavior, blend composition, morphology, and processing parameters. Resistance against unstable crack propagation was evaluated using the concepts of J-integral and crack-tipopening displacement (CTOD). The transition from ductile elastic-plastic to brittle-linear elastic fracture behavior was observed in the case of PC/ABS/PMMA blend at 10% of PMMA. Reprocessing had only a slight influence on the deformation and fracture behavior of the recycled blends. The blends produced from recycled materials proved to be competitive with the original pure materials.

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The short-term performance (Martens hardness and indentation modulus) and the time-dependent creep behavior of polyamide 6 (PA 6) and two PA 6 nanocomposites containing 3.5 wt % montmorillonite (MMT) or 5 wt % halloysite nanotubes (HNT) were analyzed by different depth-sensing indentation techniques in the nano-, micro-and macro-range of loading as a function of applied load (0.08-100 N) and temperature (-80-60 °C). Additionally, WAXD and DSC measurements were made to establish the morphology-property relationships of the investigated materials while taking into account the skin-core structure of the injection-moulded samples.

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Instrumented scratch test was carried out to determine the scratch resistance of polyamide 6 (PA 6) nanocomposites, where two kinds of nanofillers were tested, both based on silicates: montmorillonite (MMT) and halloysite nanotubes (HNT). In this work the influence of the sliding velocity, normal applied load and time-dependent recovery on the penetration depth and scratch hardness was investigated. Optical microscopy was utilized to determine the width of the scratch grooves and scanning electron microscopy revealed the damage features of the scratched surfaces. Both MNT and HNT nanofillers improve the scratch resistance of PA 6 considerably. As a result of the microstructure of the polymer nanocomposites MNT gives PA 6 a better residual depth resistance while HNT raises its scratch hardness (i.e. reduces the scratch width). Furthermore, via different depth-sensing indentation techniques in the nano-, micro- and macro-range of loading the short-term performance (Martens hardness and indentation modulus) and the time-dependent creep behavior have been analyzed for PA 6 and the PA 6 nanocomposites as a function of applied load and temperature. Additionally, WAXS (wide-angle X-ray scattering) and DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) measurements to establish morphology–property relationships of the materials investigated considering the skin–core structure of the injection molded samples were made.