The Influence of Planar Orientation on Mechanical Properties of Filled Poly(butylene succinate)

The effect of planar orientation on the mechanical characteristics of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) filled with ZnO, FeO, Al₂O₃, SiO₂, and TiO₂ micro- and nanoparticles was studied. A film sample of composite was placed between two lead disks and was compressed in a press. Under stretching, nonoriented poly(butylene succinate) was deformed in an unstable manner through alternate jumps and stops of the neck front and was fractured during the neck propagation. The deformation was of the self-oscillation type throughout the entire range of the test machine rates. The instability of the neck deformation was suppressed by a twofold prestrain of the polymer in the press and load jumps were not observed. The addition of as low as 10 vol % of particles resulted in a twofold increase in the elastic modulus of the composite, further increase in the degree of filling did not enhance the material rigidity. A 2.5-fold prestrain of the composite made it possible to suppress the brittle fracture for particles of all five types.