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Purely amorphous means lower density and lower refractive index

Thermoset then primary bonds are so strong that it will disintegrate before it
melts so cannot be reheated and reformed
Thermoplastic materials can be reheated and molded at temperatures between TG
and TM

Specimens that are extended at slower rates show more ductility in the load vs.
extension curves. This is predictable since a huge spike in load applied will make the
specimen fail faster. HDPE extended at 20 mm/min has the highest extension,
however, in theory, HDPE extended at 10 mm/min should be able to withstand more
extension since it is extended at a slower rate. This might be the result of surface
cracks that form during from loading specimens into the load machine. The crack
causes the specimen to fail before its maximum extension.

Similar to the load vs. extension graph, specimens that are extended at slower rates
show more ductility in the load vs. extension curves. Lexan extended at 5 mm/min
has the highest ultimate strength, while HDPE at 20 mm/min has the highest strain.
Since all specimens in the graph has a certain degree of ductility and the showed a
ductile type of failure (specimens are stretched), it can be inferred that the room
temperature, which is the temperature this experiment is conducted, is above the
glass transition temperature. Thus, the specimens have a rubbery trait. In general,
polymers are more ductile than composites, while composites are stronger and can
endure higher levels of stress. However, the difference in ductility is much greater
than the difference in strength.

The specimen tested at 10 mm/min should have a lower ultimate strength and higher
ductility. However, the specimen breaks prematurely due the damage caused by the
extensometer while it is attached to the specimen. If the specimen is not damage, it
should not fail under this tension test.

As the crosshead speed increase, the strength of the material increase and the
ductility decrease. This is similar to the behavior of different metals in which metal
with high strength tends to have low ductility and vice versa. For both materials, the
linear modulus of elastic increases with the crosshead speed signifying that the
material becomes stiffer. HDPE has smaller linear region.

Utilizing a log scale on the crosshead speed might enable us to present the data
trend. Polymer has a much higher ductility than composite which can be refer to how
it stretched before failure at low crosshead speed. Polymer has lower ultimate
strength than composite. The polymer specimens should not break at the lowest
crosshead speed tested. However, both specimens failed, but this could be caused by
the installation of the extensometer that made a small crack on the specimen surface.

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