Ductile-brittle transition, plastics mechanical

Two families of transparent polycarbonate-silicone multiblock polymers based on the polycarbonates of bisphenol acetone (BPA) and bisphenol fluorenone (BPF) were synthesized. Incorporation of a 25% silicone block in BPA polycarbonate lowers by 100°C the ductile-brittle transition temperature of notched specimens at all strain rates silicone block incorporation also converts BPF polycarbonate into a ductile plastic. At the ductile-brittle transition two competing failure modes are balanced—shear yielding and craze fracture. The yield stress in each family decreases with silicone content. The ability of rubber to sustain hydrostatic stress appears responsible for the fact that craze resistance is not lowered in proportion to shear resistance. Thus, the shear biasing effects of rubber domains should be a general toughening mechanism applicable to many plastics. 

Not only do LCP exhibit superior performance under high temperatures, but are of the few plastic materials which perform well under cryogenic temperatures. For most plastics, there is a certain temperature between -50 C and -100°C where the physical properties reach a ductile-brittle transition point. Even under cryogenic temperatures as low as that of liquid nitrogen, the mechanical properties of LCP remain unaffected. 

The mechanical behavior of polymers is quite different from metals and ceramics and depends greatly on their structure and operating temperature. Below their glass transition temperature, Tg (the temperature at which their covalent bonded chains can no longer move relative to one another), they are quite brittle and exhibit glass-like behavior. Above their Tg, they behave plastically. In this sense, they are similar to metals that exhibit ductile-to-brittle transitions, but for entirely different reasons. 

The main considerations of mechanical properties of metals and alloys at low temperatures taken into account for safety reasons are the transition from ductile-to-brittle behavior, certain unconventional modes of plastic deformation, and mechanical and elastic properties changes due to phase transformations in the crystalline structure. 

Single-crystal and poly crystalline transition metal carbides have been investigated with respect to creep, microhardness, plasticity, and shp systems. The fee carbides show slip upon mechanical load within the (111)plane in the 110 direction. The ductile-to-brittle transformation temperature of TiC is about 800 °C and is dependent on the grain size. The yield stress of TiC obeys a Hall Petch type relation, that is, the yield stress is inversely proportional to the square root of the grain size. TiC and ZrC show plastic deformation at surprisingly low temperatures around 1000 °C. 

---