Investigation of failure mechanisms in polymer composites by simultaneous measurement of ultra-small-angle scattering and acoustic emission during the deformation. I. Method

Failure mechanisms in polymer composites were investigated with the method of ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering using synchrotron radiation and acous tic emission analysis simultaneously. The composites were prepared from pol ystyrene filled with glass beads with different coatings. The two-dimension al scattering patterns were analyzed by means of a cylinder model, while th e curves of the acoustic emission signals per stress or amplitude interval were calculated and fitted by a Weibull distribution function.