Mechanical behavior, high-temperature

In spite of the several investigations carried out on the mechanical properties and fracture behavior of particulate polymer composites at room temperature, there are limited attempts on micro-fracture mechanisms under high temperatures. The dependence of creep deformation on stress, time, loading speed, and temperature is well known [51]. 

This class of smart materials is the mechanical equivalent of electrostrictive and magnetostrictive materials. Elastorestrictive materials exhibit high hysteresis between strain and stress (14,15). This hysteresis can be caused by motion of ferroelastic domain walls. This behavior is more compHcated and complex near a martensitic phase transformation. At this transformation, both crystal stmctural changes iaduced by mechanical stress and by domain wall motion occur. Martensitic shape memory alloys have broad, diffuse phase transformations and coexisting high and low temperature phases. The domain wall movements disappear with fully transformation to the high temperature austentic (paraelastic) phase. 

Butadiene copolymers are mainly prepared to yield mbbers (see Styrene-butadiene rubber). Many commercially significant latex paints are based on styrene—butadiene copolymers (see Coatings Paint). In latex paint the weight ratio S B is usually 60 40 with high conversion. Most of the block copolymers prepared by anionic catalysts, eg, butyUithium, are also elastomers. However, some of these block copolymers are thermoplastic mbbers, which behave like cross-linked mbbers at room temperature but show regular thermoplastic flow at elevated temperatures (45,46). Diblock (styrene—butadiene (SB)) and triblock (styrene—butadiene—styrene (SBS)) copolymers are commercially available. Typically, they are blended with PS to achieve a desirable property, eg, improved clarity/flexibiHty (see Polymerblends) (46). These block copolymers represent a class of new and interesting polymeric materials (47,48). Of particular interest are their morphologies (49—52), solution properties (53,54), and mechanical behavior (55,56). 

Creep Resistsince. Studies on creep resistance of particulate reinforced composites seem to indicate that such composites are less creep resistant than are monolithic matrices. Silicon nitride reinforced with 40 vol % TiN has been found to have a higher creep rate and a reduced creep strength compared to that of unreinforced silicon nitride. Further reduction in properties have been observed with an increase in the volume fraction of particles and a decrease in the particle size (20). Similar results have been found for SiC particulate reinforced silicon nitride (64). Poor creep behavior has been attributed to the presence of glassy phases in the composite, and removal of these from the microstmcture may improve the high temperature mechanical properties (64). 

These differences on the stress-strain behavior of P7MB and PDTMB show the marked influence of the mesomorphic state on the mechanical properties of a polymer. When increasing the drawing temperatures and simultaneously decreasing the strain rate, PDTMB exhibits a behavior nearly elastomeric with relatively low modulus and high draw ratios. On the contrary, P7MB displays the mechanical behavior typical of a semicrystalline polymer. 

The magnetic behavior of [Fe(Cp )2][Ni(edt)2] is consistent with the coexistence of FM intrachain interactions, due to D+A intrachain short contacts, with AF interchain interactions, resulting from the D+A- and A A interchain contacts, as predicted by the McConnell I mechanism [44], In this case the interchain interactions must be particularly large as they seem to be the dominant interactions at high temperatures. The value of the critical field, 14 kG, much higher than any of the... 

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