Addition of thermo-plastic polyurethane (TPU) to poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) to improve its impact strength and to change its scratch behavior

The effect of blending PMMA with TPU on both mechanical properties and scratch performance is studied. A higher TPU content leads to an enhanced impact strength and elongation at break but to a lower tensile strength and tensile modulus. PMMA tends to a brittle-ductile scratch behavior including cracks and material removal. Adding TPU changes the scratch behavior towards ductile ploughing without material removal. Fewer cracks occur within the...