What makes polystyrene brittle

Yes, polystyrene is stronger. Polystyrene is a synthetic plastic. A material is brittle if, when subjected to stress, it breaks without significant deformation strain.

Brittle materials absorb relatively little energy prior to fracture, even those of high strength. Breaking is often accompanied by a snapping sound. Brittle materials include most ceramics and glasses which do not deform plastically and some polymers, such as PMMA and polystyrene. Many steels become brittle at low temperatures see ductile-brittle transition temperature , depending on their composition and processing. This principle generalizes to other classes of material. Naturally brittle materials, such as glass, are not difficult to toughen effectively.

Most such techniques involve one of two mechanisms: to deflect or absorb the tip of a propagating crack, or to create carefully controlled residual stresses so that cracks from certain predictable sources will be forced closed.

The first principle is used in laminated glass where two sheets of glass are separated by an interlayer of polyvinyl butyral, which as a viscoelastic polymer absorbs the growing crack. The second method is used in toughened glass and pre-stressed concrete. A demonstration of glass toughening is provided by Prince Rupert's Drop. Brittle polymers can be toughened by using metal particles to initiate crazes when a sample is stressed, a good example being high impact polystyrene or HIPS.

The least brittle structural ceramics are silicon carbide mainly by virtue of its high strength and transformation-toughened zirconia. Polystyrene was discovered in Germany. Eduard Simon discovered it in He was from Berlin. Polystyrene is also called thermocole. Polystyrene is obtained by the polymerization of the monomer styrene. Polystyrene, or styrofoam, is a thermosetting plastic. Polystyrene is a kind of hard plastic. The type of plastic used to produce the popular children's toy Fisher Price activity tables is called polystyrene plastic which is a rigid, brittle and inexpensive plastic.

Its quite fun to pretend your King Kong and break the polystyrene! Rigid polystyrene can be made into a mobile phone holder. Polystyrene is today difficult to be recycled. This characteristic makes thermoset materials poor candidates for recycling. Polystyrene is most uniquely useful for its application as a foam. It is the runaway leader in the packaging industry but it also has a wide range of uses as a traditional plastic. At Creative Mechanisms , we have used Polystyrene in a number of applications across a range of industries.

For many years Polystyrene, or as it is often referred to as just Styrene, was used as the go-to prototyping material - basically for the same reasons we now use ABS.

It's inexpensive, readily available, white in color, and it glues, sands, cuts, and paints well. We still have a lot of sheets of Styrene in the shop at Creative Mechanisms. We will use them to make quick test models, paint samples, vacuum formed or thermoformed prototypes, or large models that can be created with flat sheets.

We have also seen PS used as a sort-of living hinge material typically polypropylene fits best into living hinge applications. There are clear disposable PS containers e. The hinge in this case is a little different than your traditional PP living hinge. Typically the PS hinge is more of a series of bends that allow the clamshell to flex and open up. Whether it is technically a living hinge or not, it still works very well and can be easily thermoformed.

Three major types of polystyrene include polystyrene foam, regular polystyrene plastic, and polystyrene film. Dielectric Manufacturing. Polystyrene Characteristics Polystyrene is a versatile thermoplastic that is available in a wide range of formulations. Characteristics include: Good dimensional stability Low cost Good dielectric strength Versatile and easy to process Applications for Polystyrene Light shields Disposable beverage cups and serviceware Packaging Appliances impact grades Appliance parts high-heat formulations Contact a Dielectric Manufacturing knowledge expert to discuss the use of polystyrene for fabrication of your thermoplastic parts.

Previous Polypropylene. Next PSU Polysulfone. Quick Links. All rights reserved. PSU Polysulfone. It has much improved chemical resistance, better heat stability, and improved mechanical properties. However, these copolymers often yield yellow products. Both copolymers have very high stress and impact resistance and ABS has higher tensile strength than pure PS. To increase the heat resistance, styrene is sometimes copolymerized with small amounts of maleic anhydride or it is copolymerized with this monomer to an alternating structure.

The copolymer poly styrene-co-maleic anhydride PSMA has a higher T g than pure polystyrene - K , improved heat resistance and high dimensional stability. Many styrene derivatives have been synthesized on a laboratory scale and some have been extensively investigated. However, no other styrene polymer has become a large-volume commodity thermoplastic.

The later is used as a cross-linking agent in a large number of different polymer materials. Polystyrene is a not biodegradable plastic and resistant to photolysis. It is a major contributor to the debris in the ocean. Although recycable, polystyrene is not recycled in many parts of the world.