Annealing (glass)

Quantum mechanics

Materials science

Social psychology

Enthalpy

Differential scanning calorimetry

Polycarbonate

Stress relaxation

Creep

Polymer

Thermodynamics

Physics

Psychology

Glass transition

Calorimetry

Relaxation (psychology)

Composite material

Kinetics

Brittleness

A series of physical aging experiments at different annealing temperature and times was conducted on three kinds of polycarbonates (PCs) with different molecular weight using a differential scanning calorimetry and a tensile test. The enthalpy relaxation kinetics was well modeled by existing empirical equation using Kohlausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) function and effects of annealing temperature and times for the model parameters were clarified. A good correlation between the kinetics of enthalpy relaxation and that of yield stress was found. A dependence of the molecular weight on the physical aging kinetics could be attributed to its effect on the glass transition temperature.

Correlation between enthalpy relaxation and mechanical response on physical aging of polycarbonate in relation to the effect of molecular weight on ductile-brittle transition