Krueger A., Schmidt D.F., Amirkhizi A.V.
ACS Applied Polymer Materials, vol. 8, n° 10, pp. 7515-7525, 2026
In this paper, the relationship between the temperature sensitivity of material properties near the glass transition and high-velocity impact behavior is explored for several transparent thermoplastics. The temperature sensitivity is quantified by the dynamic fragility index of the material, calculated through dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). It measures the temperature sensitivity of segmental relaxation and is used as a measure of energy dissipation capacity via viscous flow. High-velocity impact behavior is characterized by KE<sub>50</sub>, the kinetic energy corresponding to a 50% probability of penetration. It is observed for the first time that a linear fit can be used to approximate the correlation between dynamic fragility and KE<sub>50</sub>, indicating that materials with higher fragility indices exhibit an enhanced ability to dissipate impact energy through effective reductions in viscosity. This correlation has the potential to be used as an indicator in the development of materials for impact protection applications.
