The deformation behavior of polyethersulfone and polycarbonate

Abstract In thin films of polyethersulfone and polycarbonate it is shown that crazing becomes increasingly likely to occur as the temperature is raised. The transition temperature depends on strain rate and molecular weight. Three regimes of behavior can be identified. In both the low‐temperature (shear deformation) and high‐temperature (crazing) regimes the strain to craze is independent of molecular weight. However, in the intermediate crazing regime chain length is important, indicating the importance of disentanglement over this temperature range. It is thought that at the highest temperatures disentanglement is still occurring, but the rate‐determining step is now general plastic flow into the craze fibrils.