Investigation into a chemical cracking and the measurement o stress in a polycarbonate specimen through deformation jig

The causes of residual stress in an injection molded part are high temperature variation and shear stress during molding process. Chemical cracking test is one of the methods of measuring residual stress and cracks are developed according to the degree of residual stress. In this study, the relationship between chemical cracking and exerted stress have been investigated. Deformation jig was designed and used to give a stress through deformation in a specimen. Specimens were molded by a hot press using polycarbonate (PC) and annealed to remove residual stresses in the specimens. Specimens were fixed in the deformation jig and immersed into the solvent to create cracks in the specimens. Solvents were prepared by using tetrahydrofuran and methyl alcohol. As stress accordance with the deformation in the specimen increased, the frequency and density of cracks in the specimen also increased. The results of this study can be used for the measurement of residual stress quantitatively in an injection molded PC product using a chemical cracking method.