G. Burgisi et al., TOUGHNESS ENHANCEMENT OF POLYAMIDE-6 MODIFIED WITH DIFFERENT TYPES OFRUBBER - THE INFLUENCE OF INTERNAL RUBBER CAVITATION, Journal of applied polymer science, 66(4), 1997, pp. 777-787
The toughening enhancement of Polyamide 6 blended with different types
of functionalized elastomers was studied. Morphological analysis by s
canning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed on undeformed samples
in order to determine particle-size distribution. Yet more SEM examin
ation of the damage zone ahead of notch tip in uniaxial tensile test p
rovided insight into the failure mechanisms. The best impact strength
was achieved with the PA6/EPDM-g-MA. (terpolymer ethylene-propylene-di
ene monomer grafted with Maleic Anhydride) blend, unlike ULDPE-g-MA (u
ltra-low-density polyethylene grafted with maleic anhydride), which po
ssesses the poorest toughening efficiency even though opposite results
would be expected from particle-size evaluation. The higher cavitatio
n resistance of EPDM compared to ULDPE observed during low strain rate
tensile test plays a crucial role in understanding the best performan
ces of its blends. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.