Toughening, degree

Polymers below the glass transition temperature are usually rather brittle unless modified by fibre reinforcement or by addition of rubbery additives. In some polymers where there is a small degree of crystallisation it appears that the crystallines act as knots and toughen up the mass of material, as in the case of the polycarbonates. Where, however, there are large spherulite structures this effect is more or less offset by high strains set up at the spherulite boundaries and as in the case of P4MP1 the product is rather brittle. 

The blending of DCPD resins has become an important practice. Typical blended resins include combinations of DCPD resins with isophthalic, orthoph-thalic or vinyl ester resins. Creating blends with higher-molecular-weight phthalic anhydride, isophthalic or vinyl ester resins can toughen neat DCPD resins, which are inherently brittle. In the case of vinyl ester and isophthalic and DCPD blends, a degree of improved chemical resistance and hydrolytic stability can be gained. 

A high degree of toughening may be attained by the use of CSR particles as modifiers of thermosetting polymers. This is because several adjustable parameters - the chemical structure and size of the core the number, chemical structure, and thickness of shells and the possibility of crosslinking... 

Polymerization of LB films, or deposition of LB films on polymers, offers the opportunity to impart to LB films a higher degree of mechanical integrity. However, preliminary work in this direction shows a conflict between the chainlike primary structure of the polymer and the well-organized supramo-lecular structure [15]. One possible solution may be the insertion of flexible spacers between the main chain polymer and the side chain amphiphile, a route also employed in liquid crystal polymers. These materials belong to an interesting class of two-dimensional polymers, of which there are few examples. These toughening techniques may eventually be applied to stabilize other self-assembled microstructures, such as vesicles, membranes, and microemulsions. 

The degree of toughening is characterized by the specific optical path difference A, corresponding to the maximum tensile stress inside the object wall ay, here, the relationship... 

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