The use of flexural tests in the study of environmental stress cracking of polymers

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Abstract
The use of bend testers for the determination of critical strains in the study of environmental stress cracking has been assessed. Using the combination of polystyrene in ethanol, various factors affecting the measurement of critical strains were investigated, including the strain applied during the bend testing, the time of immersion in the liquid prior to straining, the surface finish, and the extent of physical aging. It was concluded that the best determination of critical strain is the strain at which a sample just shows signs of crazing, rather than the strain at the outer edge of a band of crazes. The measured value of critical strain increases with increased prior immersion time, decreased surface roughness, and decreased physical aging time. Reasons for these variations are discussed. It is concluded that although the use of bend testers is valuable for qualitative testing, careful testing methodologies need to be adopted for it to be a useful quantitative test.