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Fracture surface characteristics and impact properties of poly(butylene terephthalate)

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Abstract

In this article, the relationship between fracture surface feature and impact properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) was investigated. The results indicated that the fracture surface morphology of notched impact specimens tested in the temperature range from 196 to 180 °C could be differentiated into brittle (T ≤ 20 °C) and ductile appearances (T > 20 °C). The fracture surface roughness was characterized by surface roughness ratio (R s) and fractal dimension (D b). The fracture mode significantly influenced the relationship between impact strength and fracture surface roughness. When PBT fractured in a brittle mode, both the measured values of R s and D b could correspond to impact strength appropriately. On the contrary, when PBT fractured in a ductile mode, their relationship became not statistically significant because the area of the plastic deformation zone instead of fracture surface roughness might be the major factor influencing impact strength.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support for this work from Guizhou Flare Plan (No. 20008005) and Guizhou Science Fund (No. 20003072).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, 310027, Hangzhou, China

    Peihua Du, Yihu Song & Qiang Zheng

  2. National Engineering Research Center for Compounding and Modification of Polymeric Materials, 550014, Guiyang, China

    Peihua Du, Bin Xue, Yihu Song, Shengjun Lu, Jie Yu & Qiang Zheng

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  1. Peihua Du
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  2. Bin Xue
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  3. Yihu Song
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  4. Shengjun Lu
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  5. Jie Yu
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Correspondence to Jie Yu or Qiang Zheng.

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Du, P., Xue, B., Song, Y. et al. Fracture surface characteristics and impact properties of poly(butylene terephthalate). Polym. Bull. 64, 185–196 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-009-0199-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-009-0199-8

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