Fracture analysis of acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene resins

The fracture properties of three grades of acrylonitrile‐buta‐diene‐styrene(ABS) were evaluated and compared. In preliminary studies, J 1c ( J integral) results obtained using the Begley and Landes procedure for single‐edge‐notched tension specimens and compact tension specimens were compared to establish the validity of the J 1c criterion. It is shown that the Rice single‐specimen approximation can be applied for this material, resulting in considerable simplification of the testing procedure. The J 1c values for two of the grades were evaluated at two or more rates using the compact tension geometry and the single‐specimen procedure over a temperature range of–60° to + 75°C. The results are analyzed in terms of a modified Eyring model, and the activation energies for the two grades of ABS were found to be 13.7 and 36.7 Kcals/mole, respectively.