Environmental stress cracking of polyethylene: Temperature effect

摘要

AbstractPolyethylene was drawn at temperatures ranging from 30° to 60°C in aggressive and nonaggressive environments. Fibrillation was found to occur in the aggressive environment, and this effect increased with temperature. The temperature effect was more prominent at lower strain rates. Thin films drawn in aggressive environments deformed inhomogeneously. Again, this effect was found to increase with increasing temperatures. Single crystal deformation was also found to be inhomogeneous, and “solvation” of the amorphous surface layer occurred in the presence of the aggressive environment. Infrared measurements of sorption under different loads indicated that there is an increase in the amount of sorbed materials with increasing load. Dynamic mechanical studies revealed the intracrystalline regions to be affected preferent