Design of toughened PLA based material for application in structures subjected to severe loading conditions. Part 2. Quasi-static tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis at ambient and moderately high temperature

The suitability of a ternary composition 58 wt% polylactide (PLA) - 25 wt% poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) - 17 wt% Impact modifier (Biomax®Strong - BS) for use in technical parts subjected to severe loading conditions continues to be investigated. Previous work has demonstrated that PLA-PMMA-BS composition presents very appealing tensile properties at ambient temperature over a wide range of strain-rate, and can compete with petro-sourced blends for use in highly-loaded technical parts. Attention is paid now to its mechanical behavior at moderately high temperature (up to 60 °C), through tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analyses. Results highlight the improvement of mechanical properties in the considered range of temperature, thanks to the presence of PMMA in the blend, and prove that PLA-PMMA-BS composition can be suitable for use in technical parts subjected to high strain-rate and/or moderately high temperature.