Craze growth and fracture in ABS polymers

Abstract

Craze growth and fracture tests have been conducted on two grades of ABS. Crazing is shown to be governed by a relaxation process which may be accounted for using a modified Dugdale model. The results of the fracture tests indicate that there are two values of toughness appropriate to a complete description of the failure process over a wide range of temperatures. The first of these occurs at the initiation of cracking and is shown to be a geometry-independent parameter, whilst the second, which takes place at maximum load, is dependent on the loading mode employed.