Experimental investigation of the low cycle fatigue crack propagation in pc/abs polymer blends

Low cycle fatigue crack propagation (FCP) behavior of two PC/ABS blends with a weight ratio of PC to ABS being 80/20 and 60/40, respectively, is investigated. Experiments are carried out by using standard compact tension (CT) specimens. The fracture surfaces are examined with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). It is shown that the FCP resistance of PC/ABS blend with 20% ABS particles is higher than that of PC/ABS blend with 40% ABS particles. It is found that proper ABS particle content can result in the toughening of PC/ABS blends through particle cavitation and shear yielding in matrix.