Effect of microcellular foaming on the fracture behavior of ABS polymer

摘要

In this work, the properties of microcellular ABS were studied. Foamed samples exhibited a solid skin/foamed core structure, with some elongated cells in the flow direction, while spherical cells were mostly observed in the transversal direction. The flexural modulus, flexural strength, and fracture toughness K-Ic decreased with the density. However, the Crack Tip Opening Displacement (CTOD) was found to increase with the foaming ratio. The evolution of the mechanical properties and fracture toughness was well described by prediction models considering the skin/core morphology of these microcellular materials. Foaming increased the anisotropic behavior of the material, due to the cell elongation caused by the fountain flow during injection. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.