Phase diagram of the amorphous thermoplastics

The temperature-dependent behaviour of amorphous and semi-crystalline thermoplastics is

very different. Amorphous thermoplastics are hard and brittle materials at ambient temperature.
With rising temperature, the solidity decreases and the extensibility increases at the same time.
If, as shown in the phase diagram, the glass transition temperature is exceeded, the solidity falls
rapidly and the extensibility increases sharply. In the case of a further increase of temperature,
the plastic, as soon as the flow temperature has been exceeded, first changes into the melting
state (plastic range) before it decomposes chemically if the temperature continues to rise and
irreversibly loses its properties.The deformation behaviour of a semi-crystalline
thermoplastic shows quite different characteristics. Its molecule filaments can position
themselves closely next to each other because of only a few branchings, which results in high
secondary linkage forces (crystallization). Due to the long molecule chains, however, interlacing
also occurs (amorphous), so that the two phases, amorphous and crystalline, are present next
to each other.