Processing and fracture behaviour of impact-modified PVC

Articles made from uPVC are likely to be subjected to blows, or to abuse over a wide temperature range so, that rubbery "impact modifiers" are added to the PVC to improve its robustness. The market for uPVC window profiles has increased over the past ten years. The rubber modifier is either blended with PVC or is present in the form of a graft co-polymer. Taking a PVC-acrylic elastomer blend as an example this project examines some important aspects of processing of uPVC window profiles. [Continues.]