Impact fracture behavior of molecularly orientated polycarbonate sheets

The impact fracture behavior of molecularly orientated polycarbonate (PC) s heets was investigated. The molecular orientation was achieved via a newly developed equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE) process. Improvement in im pact fracture propagation resistance was observed in the ECAE processed PC sheets. The improved impact resistance was found to be directly related to the changes in molecular orientation because of ECAE. The unique characteri stics of the ECAE process for polymer extrusion are described. The potentia l benefits of ECAE in enhancing physical and mechanical properties of the e xtruded PC sheets are discussed. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.