Abstract

The effects of heat pretreatment and ambient gas (air and vacuum) on selected properties of the polycarbonate sheet have been studied. Changes in tensile properties as functions of heat pretreatment temperature (up to 160°C) and strain rate (wide range of 1.7 × 10−4 − 13.1 m/sec = 0.29 − 2.3 × 104 %/sec) were determined and these are discussed in relation to changes in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) data. The performance characteristics of the present tensile testing are obtained over a wide range of extension rates without changing the mode of deformation and the shape of the test pieces. It was suggested from the experimental results that heat pretreatment below the glass transition temperature (Tg) causes ordered molecular domains to grow on the free surfaces of the sheet, consisting of thermally deteriorated macromolecules and possessing lower crazing stresses (exhibiting more brittle mechanical responses, leading to the decrease in breaking strain and energy). The effect of annealing above Tg on the tensile properties, and on the results of DSC and GPC, could not be precisely understood.

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