Impact strength of denture polymethyl methacrylate reinforced with continuous glass fibers or metal wire.

The impact strength of heat-cured acrylic resin test specimens that had been reinforced in various ways was compared in this study. Ten rectangular test specimens were fabricated for each test group. The strengtheners included 1.0-mm-diameter steel wire and continuous E-glass fibers. Both notched and unnotched test specimens were tested in a Charpy-type impact test. In a further analysis the concentration of glass fibers in the test specimens was determined and plotted against the impact strength of the test specimens. The results showed that, compared with the unreinforced specimens, both types of reinforcement increased the impact strength of the test specimens considerably (p < 0.001). There was no clear difference between the mean impact strength value of the test specimens reinforced with metal wire and that of the specimens reinforced with glass fiber. The correlation coefficient between the fiber concentration of the test specimens and their impact strength was 0.818 (p < 0.005). Specimens with fiber concentrations greater than 25 wt% yielded to the higher impact strength more readily than those with metal wire reinforcement did.