TENSILE DEFORMATION MECHANISMS OF THE BLENDS OF POLYCARBONATE WITH POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE)

The deformation mechanisms of polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends at room temperature has been investigated by means of the dilat ometric measurements. A quantitative model developed by Heikens el al. [10,11] has been applied to obtain information on the separate contri butions of several possible deformation mechanisms to the total deform ation. For pure poly(methyl methacrylate) and the polycarbonate/poly(m ethyl methacrylate) 10/90 blend, crazing is found to be the dominant p lastic deformation mechanism, whereas shear deformation is responsible for the toughening of pure polycarbonate and the polycarbonate/poly(m ethyl methacrylate) 90/10 blend. However, both crazing and shear defor mation contribute to the total elongation of polycarbonate/poly(methyl methacrylate) 50/50 blend. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.