Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 February 2011
Continuous microlayer composites of polycarbonate (PC), a ductile glassy polymer, and styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN), a glassy relatively brittle polymer, were discussed. Microlayered systems composed of 49 to 776 continuous layers, in which the primary variable was the variation in thickness of the continuous layers between 30 and 2μm, were emphasized. The bulk properties of these microlayered composites showed a dramatic improvement in the toughness or ductility and in the fatigue properties as the layer thickness decreased. Investigation of the irreversible deformation processes revealed that when the layers were thicker (30μm, 49 layers) the SAN layers crazed and the PC shear banded in the usual manner. Subsequently the composite system fractured in a relatively brittle manner due to the development of large voids in the SAN layers. When the layer thickness was reduced to 2μm (776 layers) the entire system behaved in a ductile manner and both the PC and SAN shear banded due to a new cooperative process. This was analyzed by considering the micromechanics of these irreversible processes at the PC-SAN interface. As a result of this work, it is expected that ultra-thin layered structures of other alternating composite systems will reveal synergistic properties if the interfacial properties are designed so that the ductile component will dominate the yield and failure characteristics of the entire system.
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