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Chapter 7
How do you increase plastics toughness?
Investigating how to improve a polymers behaviour and increasing its impact strength
A plastics toughness determines its fracture behaviour. If overloaded, functional and safety parts should present a ductile fracture, so as to absorb energy in a crash, for example, and to reduce the risk of injuries from a brittle fracture. The broad term toughness encompasses properties of plastics which are far more complex than strength or stiffness. Toughness is the property that governs a plastics irreversible deformation before it breaks. A brittle plastic, in contrast, breaks almost without any deformation. Impact strength and notched impact strength describe a plastics behaviour under impact, that is to say, under the effect of rapid deformation typically more than 500mm per second.

Impact strength

TABLE 1 Plastic Crastin PBT

UNIT kJ/m

Impact strength aCK at +23C 30C 4 85 8 to 15 to 100 9 to 12 11 4 to 5 14 4 to 5 12 to 65 20 18 30 35 to 45 4 13 6 to 10 to 20 8 to 12 8 2 to 3.5 9 3 to 4 8 to 20 2 7 25 to 35

Part geometry (for example, wall thickness, ribbing) and toughened temperature greatly influence impact strength, as well Delrin POM as the material itself. That is why standardised toughened procedures to determine toughness properties do not Rynite PET provide exact quantitative values, only comparative toughened indications for the choice of suitable plastics. Zytel PA 6 dry The Charpy impact test, unnotched and notched, according to ISO 179, provides comparative values for various plastics easily and quickly. In this test, as in a flexural test, a standard test bar, 80mm long and with a cross-section of 4mm 10mm is placed on supports 62mm apart, resting on the narrower side. For the notched version of the test, samples of toughened plastics are first notched to a depth of 2mm, with the notch having a radius of curvature of 0.25mm. In the test, a pendulum hammer falls onto the test bar and breaks it; in the notched test, the notch lies on the side furthest from the hammer. toughened, dry Zytel PA 66 dry toughened, dry Acrylo-nitrile-butadiene-styrene-copolymer (ABS)* Acrylo-nitrile-styrene-acrylic ester (ASA)* Polycarbonate (PC)* toughened PC Blends* * From the literature

Charpy impact strength aCK to ISO 179 for some important engineering plastics

The difference in the hammers energy at impact and after the breakage indicates the impact energy absorbed by the test bar. The impact strength aCU or notched impact strength aCK is the impact energy absorbed relative to the test bars cross-section.

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Tests for determining notched and unnotched impact strength

In the Izod test, standardised under ISO 180, the notched or, as in the case of the Charpy test, unnotched standard test bar is held vertically at half of its length. For the notched test, the notch stands facing the hammer, just clear of the holding clamp. As in the Charpy test, the impact strength aIK or notched impact strength aCK are determined as the impact energy absorbed relative to the cross-section of the test bar. Both tests are usually carried out at +23C and -30C. The tensile impact test (ISO 8256) is designed for specimens which do not break in the Charpy and Izod tests. In this test, the standard test bar is clamped on one side and a transverse yoke placed on the other. A pendulum hammer strikes this yoke, creating a high-velocity tensile impact on the bar. The impact work relative to the cross-section describes the tensile impact strength aZK. In the penetration test (ISO 6603-2) a hemispherical impact body of 20mm diameter, with a polished surface, strikes a test plate 2mm thick and 60mm in diameter, held in a circular support with a clearance of 40mm. In the simplest situation, in a series of tests, the fracture energy E 50 is determined when 50% of the test plates are damaged by tear initiation or by penetration. The instrumented penetration test also provides characteristic values such as maximum force, deformation and energy at maximum force, as well as penetration energy and deformation.

Impact resistance
Putting it simply, a division of duties exists in the microstructure of semi-crystalline engineering polymers. The crystalline regions provide strength, the amorphous ones provide toughness. It should be kept in mind, however, these plastics usual operating temperatures are higher than their glass transition temperature, so the amorphous regions have high elasticity. A high impact resistance is important in many functional and safety parts to ensure benevolent fracture behaviour. Under impact stress, the mechanical energy absorbed by the plastic is transferred from the hard, stiff crystallites into the soft amorphous regions. If their energy absorption capacity is not enough, brittle fracture occurs. Brittle fracture can be prevented by incorporating impact modifiers, such as elastomers, which are blended very intimately into the base material. Under impact stress, the elastomeric regions now absorb additional energy and prevent brittle fracture. Impact modifiers are particularly important to improve impact and notched impact strength at low temperatures. For example, in dry-as-moulded nylon 66 Charpy, impact strength can be improved from 4kJ/m2 (Zytel135F) to 90kJ/m2 (Zytel ST801) at 23C, or from 3-20 kJ/m2 at -30C.

Impact modification
The most important requirements for the parts of a respiration helmet (see Figure 1) are high impact strength plus good mechanical properties, and ability to withstand high temperatures and metal splatters. These are the reasons why Zytel SST was chosen for the helmets outer shell and face protector shield, which slides on rails, and for the optional welding protection shield. This glass fibre reinforced, high impact nylon (SST = stiff and super tough) retains its toughness and resilience down to -30C, so the helmet easily survives the drop tests and falling weight tests at both high and low temperatures, as required by safety specifications. It is thanks to the consistent use of plastics that this helmet is light and comfortable. A modern ski-binding (see Figure 2) must be light, must reliably protect the skier from injuries in different sorts of fall and must be comfortable to use. An innovative design and the use of two plastics that are highly impact-resistant from +40C to -40C meet

Figure 1: Through the use of high impact Zytel SST, the outer shell, the welding protection shield (lower left) and the visor frame (upper right) have the necessary toughness, even at low temperatures.

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these requirements. The toe-clamp is made of glass reinforced Zytel nylon; the toe-piece housing, the automatic heel-release housing and several other components are made of Delrin acetal. This combination ensures low friction movement and practically wear-free mating surfaces between the various moving parts. Ice formation on the surfaces is very low and laboratory tests show that in freeze-up conditions, the release force increases by only 10%. In the automotive industry, high impact plastics are used as a matter of course. An example (see Figure 3) is the housing for the sensors and electronic circuitry of an electronic stability control system (ESC). Use of high impact, 25% glass fibre reinforced DuPont Zytel ST (super-tough) nylon for the housing cuts manufacturing costs by 40% compared to metal; the housing easily withstood tests in which it was subjected to vibrations at frequencies up to 500Hz at temperatures between -40C and 85C.
Figure 2: Thanks to the consistent use of Delrin and Zytel in an innovative design, a ski-binding offers maximum safety even in twisting falls; it is particularly light, reliable and comfortable.

Figure 3: A robust, torsion-free housing of heat stabilised, glass reinforced Zytel SST nylon protects sensors and electronic circuitry in an automotive ESC system.

### The examples in this series of articles are intended to illustrate underlying principles and to explain the main influencing factors. top of page
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