Mechanical behaviour and permeability of ABS/glass bead composites

The stress-strain behaviour of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) containing up to 33.5vol% of 10–40μm glass beads as filler was measured at one strain rate at room temperature. The beads eliminate the yielding and greatly enhance the ultimate elongation and work-to-break. The change in stress-strain response is associated with the dewetting and vacuole formation around the beads and with an increase in the amount of crazing. Initial experiments using water permeability to investigate the crazes are reported.