Damageable Thermal Behavior of Thermoplastic Flat Plate under Uniaxial Stress

The behavior of polymers is remarkably related to temperature, its influence on physical characteristics should not be denied in the study of mechanical or physical behavior, especially in the study of forming processes that require an important apport of mechanical and thermal efforts. The behavior of polymers is strongly linked to a known temperature margin noted Tg and called glass transition temperature, above which the configuration of the macromolecular chains goes largely mobile, and dependence with temperature occurs more dramatically. This dependence is especially remarkable than the dependence with time for viscoelastic materials. Our work is a contribution to the study and characterization of the behavior of thermoplastic polymers with thermal damage, the damage model proposed reflects the state of damage to a structure made of ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene) undergoes both mechanical and thermal damagee under different temperature spectra.

Aims: To introduce the temperature influence on the mechanical behavior of polymers through damage variable, and the evolution of this variable with respect to temperature.
Study Design: We study dumbbell shape flat plate specimens made by ABS under a thermo-mechanical effort.
Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory of Bioplastics and Nanotechnologie, Department of Applied Sciences, University of Québec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, between August 2012 and December 2012.
Methodology: Two series of test was achieved on ABS specimen, first, thermal characterization was accomplished for determining the characteristicals temperatures, and then thermo-mechanical tests was performed on dumbbell specimen in uniaxial tension and in a range of temperature from 60ºC to 180ºC by a step of 10ºC.
Results: For the ABS material, the mechanical characteristics with respect to temperature evolution were noted. And the damageable thermal behavior was highlighted.
Conclusion: Results show the reliability of the proposed approach, and its ability to present the damageable behavior of the with respect to its intrinsic parameters.