TENSILE-STRENGTH OF THERMOPLASTIC BLENDS AND COMPOSITES

Failure of purely thermoplastic blends has so far, in contrast to that of thermoplastic-elastomeric blends, not been studied extensively. In this investigation, the tensile strength of the brittle thermoplastics polymethylmethacrylate and polystyrene, of their random copolymers, their blends, and also of blends of polymethylmethacrylate with the copolymers was measured. The polymers behave all mechanically similarly, but the blends assume all degrees of miscibility and coarseness of phase morphology. For comparison with the blends, also macroscopic composites were tested.