Abstract

AbstractAn innovative cooling and heating device has been successfully applied to an instrumented macrohardness testing machine in close collaboration with the company Zwick/Roell. The prototype allows the local time‐dependent analysis of mechanical properties such as Martens hardness and indentation modulus, as well as fracture toughness and creep and relaxation behaviour at temperatures ranging from −100 °C to +100 °C. On the basis of load–indentation depth, load–time or indentation depth–time diagrams, the indentation behaviour as a function of test speed and/or temperature (which has rarely been done for polymers in the macro‐range of loading) depending on matrix and materials composition (amorphous/semicrystalline thermoplastics, epoxy resins, micro‐ and nanocomposites) has been analysed. Martens‐hardness, indentation modulus on the one hand and creep compliance and relaxation modulus on the other have been found to be strongly temperature dependent. Adequate methods of indentation fracture mechanics have been enhanced for polymers and applied to determine the fracture toughness of very different polymer‐based materials.

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