Micromechanical processes and failure phenomena in reactively compatibilized blends of polyamide 6 and styrenic polymers. I. Polyamide 6/acrylonitrile– butadiene–styrene copolymer blends

Abstract

In this work, in situ investigations of the micromechanical properties of reactively compatibilized blends of polyamide 6 (PA6) and an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) were performed with transmission electron microscopy. Three PA6/ABS blends were prepared with a disperse morphology (inclusions of PA6 or ABS) and with a cocontinuous structure. The objective of this work was to study the deformation of the inclusions and the interface between the PA6 phase and the ABS phase. Our transmission electron microscopy investigations revealed that the morphology of the blends was strongly influenced by the asymmetric nature of the interface between PA6 and ABS. In the blends with a PA6 matrix, the interface between PA6 and the ABS inclusions was deformed in tensile deformation under uniaxial loading. A strong influence of the PA6 water content on the (micro)mechanical behavior was observed. Although the ''dry'' blends behaved in a brittle fashion, the ''wet'' blends behaved in a ductile fashion with the formation of deformation bands in the matrix (PA6 or ABS), which were initiated by stress concentration at the particles (ABS or PA6, respectively).

Micromechanical processes and failure phenomena in reactively compatibilized blends of polyamide 6 and styrenic polymers. II. Polyamide 6/styrene‐acrylonitrile copolymer blends

“…The first part is devoted to blends of PA 6 and an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) copolymer. 6 Tensile tests were performed on thin sections of the blends within a transmission electron microscope (TEM). Micromechanical tests on blends of PA 6 and a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) are targeted in this article (Part II of the investigations).…”

Melt processing, mechanical, and fatigue crack propagation properties of reactively compatibilized blends of polyamide 6 and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene copolymer

“…The analysis of the fracture surface in tensile experiments suggested a relaxation at the crack tip induced by local heating at large deformation rates. Recently, micromechanical investigations of thin sections of PA 6/ABS and PA 6/SAN blends under uniaxial loading were performed employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM) equipped with an in situ micro tensile stage 22, 23. It was demonstrated that the moisture content of the blends strongly influenced the deformation mechanism.…”