The effects of physical aging on the brittle fracture behavior of polymers

The effects of physical aging on the failure behavior of a typical brittle polymer, polystyrene, have been studied. Properties examined were creep rupture lifetimes, fatigue lifetimes, and environmental stress cracking in ethanol. Fractured samples were examined both optically and by scanning electron microscopy to determine the degree of crazing. It was found that a longer physical aging time produced shorter lifetimes in all cases. The main reason for this is the reduction in craze strength caused by a reduced toughness due to physical aging. A long aging time was found to delay craze formation, but once formed, these crazes were much less stable than those formed with a short aging time. The effects of aging are important on failure prediction criteria and on testing methodologies, and the implications are discussed.