Dynamic mechanical properties of high nitrile resins

• Published in: Polymer engineering and science 1980-12, Vol.20 (18), p.1205-1213
• Main Authors: Yanik, R. W., McMaster, A. D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0032-3888; 1548-2634
• DOI: 10.1002/pen.760201806

Dynamic mechanical measurements have become increasingly more common as an interpretative tool for identifying structure‐property relationships in polymers, especially in multi‐phase systems. There are many literature references citing the application of this analytical technique to the study of rubber reinforced polymers such as high impact polystyrene and aerylonitrile‐butadiene‐ styrene. This paper illustrates further extensions of the technique to study the effects of composition and processing parameters on the mechanical relaxation behavior of rubber reinforced high nitrile resins. Storage and loss curves vs temperature are compared for three related polymer systems: (1) a high nitrile glassy copolymer, (2) mechanical blends of the glassy copolymer with rubber, and (3) a copolymer grafted onto a rubber backbone. Particular attention is given to the size and shape of the tan δ loss peak for blended and grafted resins having different rubber levels. The importance of dispersing the rubber particles during processing is also shown. Dynamic mechanical studies have shown a pronounced decrease in the size of the rubber loss peak for oriented rubber modified high nitrile resins. This is further evidence that dynamic mechanical results are sensitive to variations in processing conditions as well as resin composition.