K. Cho et al., EVALUATION OF THE WELD-LINE STRENGTH OF THERMOPLASTICS BY COMPACT TENSION TEST, Polymer engineering and science, 37(7), 1997, pp. 1217-1225
In order to understand the relationship between processing conditions
and the properties of weld-lines on a molecular level, it is necessary
to evaluate the true strength of the weld-line that is not affected b
y the V-shape notch on the surface of the weld-line zone. In this expe
riment, the weld-line strength of several brittle, ductile, or phase-s
eparated polymers was evaluated using the compact tension test by meas
uring the critical stress intensity factor, K-IC, or the critical J-va
lue, J(IC), and the results were compared with those obtained by tensi
le testing. For brittle polymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate) (PM
MA) or styrene acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), the value of the weld-li
ne factor, i.e., the strength ratio between the welded and the non-wel
ded specimen, is higher than that measured by tensile testing, because
of the notch sensitivity of brittle thermoplastics and the notch depe
ndence of tensile strength. On the other hand, in the case of ductile
polymers such as polycarbonate (PC), the weld-line factor is similar f
or both the tensile and compact tension tests. However, the dependency
of the weld-line factor on melt temperature is more obvious in the co
mpact tension test. From these results, it seems that the compact tens
ion test is more appropriate for measuring the interfacial adhesion st
rength across the weld-line, which excludes the notch effect.