Dynamic mechanical response of ABS polymer at elevated strain rates and temperatures

Abstract

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) is an extensively used material for various applications from automobile to toys. The material is known to have good machinability along with toughness and thermal-stability. The present investigation is aimed at understanding the effect of high strain rate loading (>1000 /s) on the dynamic response of ABS for potential benefits in energy absorption in mechanical and structural applications. Considering this, uniaxial compression tests on ABS polymer have been performed at different high strain rates (1000 /s – 4000 /s) and temperatures (250C – 1100C) using split Hopkinson Bar (SHB) test setup. The results indicate that the material shows a linear relationship between the true stress and the true strain up to its yield point. High plastic deformation is observed at higher strain rates along with higher levels of stress. However, as the strain rate is increased, there is more evidence of collapse ultimately leading to the failure of the specimens. The material is not much sensitive to strain rate. These high strain rate data may be useful for safety and structural integrity assessment of structures subjected to dynamic loading.