Drawing behavior of linear polyethylene. II. Effect of draw temperature and molecular weight on draw ratio and modulus

The drawing behavior of linear polyethylene homopolymers with weight-average molecular weights (M?_w) from 101,450 to ca. 3,500,000 has been studied over the temperature range 75°C to the melting point. In all cases 1-cm gauge length samples were drawn in an Instron tensile testing machine at a constant cross-head speed of 10 cm/min. With the exception of the lowest molecular weight polymer, it was found that increasing the draw temperature led to substantial increases in the maximum draw ratio which could be achieved, and that this increased monotonically with increasing draw temperature. Measurements of the Young's modulus of the drawn materials showed, however, that the unique relationship between modulus and draw ratio previously established for drawing at 75°C was not maintained to the highest draw temperatures. The highest draw temperature at which this relation held was found to be strongly molecular weight dependent, increasing from ca. 80 to ca. 125°C when M?_w increased from 101,450 to 800,000. In all cases conditions could be found for drawing samples to draw ratios of 20 or more with correspondingly large values of the Young's modulus.     

Elastic modulus and thermal conductivity of ultradrawn polyethylene

The axial and transverse Young's modulus and thermal conductivity of gel and single crystal mat polyethylene with draw ratios λ = 1–350 have been measured from 160 to 360 K. The axial Young's modulus increases sharply with increasing λ, whereas the transverse modulus shows a slight decrease. The thermal conductivity exhibits a similar behavior. At λ = 350, the axial Young's modulus and thermal conductivity are, respectively, 20% and three times higher than those of steel. For this ultradrawn material both the magnitude and the temperature dependence of the axial Young's modulus are close to those of polyethylene crystal. The high values of the axial Young's modulus and thermal conductivity arise from the presence of a large percentage (∼85%) of long needle crystals. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 3359–3367, 1999     

Mechanical properties and characterization of slowly cooled isotactic polypropylene/high‐density polyethylene blends

In previous studies, we found that Young's moduli of quenched isotactic polypropylene/high‐density polyethylene (iPP/HDPE) exceeded the upper bound, calculated from the Voigt model, with the moduli of the quenched homopolymers as those of the two components. We suggested that this might be due to crystallization, as the components crystallized at higher temperatures in the blend than on their own. We repeated the same set of measurements, this time on iPP/HDPE blends that were cooled slowly. We also examined crystallization at various rates of cooling with differential scanning calorimetry. At slow cooling rates, the HDPE and iPP components in the blends crystallize at lower temperatures than in the pure homopolymers, suggesting that the presence of one component inhibits rather than promotes the crystallization of the other. Electron microscopy of slowly cooled blends revealed very different interfacial morphologies depending on whether the HDPE or the iPP crystallizes first. Young's moduli of most of the blends lie on the upper bound; however, some blends with co‐continuous morphologies fall well below the lower bound. The mechanical properties are discussed in terms of the interfacial morphology, the crystallization behavior, and the large‐scale phase separation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1384–1392, 2003     

Mechanical properties of ultra-oriented polyethylene

Semicrystalline polymers generally exhibit moduli well below their theoretical limit due to chain folding and to lack of crystal alignment. Modulus increases attainable through standard drawing procedures are limited by sample fracture before large draw ratios are reached. Using an Instron capillary rheometer which allowed a draw ratio of > 300, transparent polyethylene strands of unusually high c-axis orientation have been produced by a combination of pressure and shear. The virtually perfect crystalline orientation and evidence for extended chains confirm that a significant improvement in modulus can be realized by this technique. The dynamic tensile storage modulus was measured by Vibron over the temperature range ?160°C to +120°C. Room-temperature moduli were 7 × 10¹¹ dyne/cm², higher than any reported values for drawn polyethylene. Values also remained above 10¹¹ dyne/cm² even at 120°C. The moduli and morphological data have been related by a model consisting of an extended-chain component in paralled with a conventional drawn morphology. Experimental and calculated moduli are compared and related to available theory.     

Thermal expansion and Young's modulus of uniaxially drawn poly(tetrafluoroethylene) in the temperature range from 100 to 400 K

PTFE specimens with a crystallinity of 42 % were uniaxially stretched at 473 K resulting in draw ratios between 1. and 4. The degree of molecular orientation was obtained by X-ray wide angle and birefringence measurements. The thermal expansion coefficients and the Young's moduli both parallel and perpendicular to the draw direction were measured in the temperature range from 100 to 400 K. The thermal expansion behaviour turned out to be dependent upon the molecular orientation in a sensitive manner and could be explained by a simple model of structure changes caused by the deformation processes.     

Solid-State coextrusion of high-density polyethylene. II. Effect of molecular weight and molecular weight distribution

The recently developed technique of solid-state coextrusion for ultradrawing semicrystalline thermoplastics has been applied in the preparation of self-reinforced high-density polyethylene extrudates. The extrudates consist of definite core and sheath phases composed of different molecular weights (M_w) in the range of 60,000–250,000 and different molecular weight distributions (M_w/M_n = 3.0–20). Concentric billets of two different phases were prepared for extrusion by in serting a polyethylene rod within a tubular billet of a different high-density polyethylene followed by melting the two phases to obtain bonding between them. The billet was then split longitudinally to increase extrusion speed and extruded at 120°C, 0.23 GPa through a conical die of extrusion draw ratio 25. Extrudates of high tensile modulus (38 GPa) and strength (0.50 GPa) could be produced in a steady state process at a rate near 0.25 cm/min. The tensile properties of the extrudates from either the single or concentric billets increased with average molecular weight and were insensitive to the molecular weight distribution of the constituent phases. Thermal analysis indicated a high deformation efficiency for the sheath and core phases of the extrudates by the coextrusion technique.     

Hardness and Young's modulus of transcrystalline polypropylene by Vickers and Knoop microindentation

A study of the anisotropic microhardness and Young's modulus of transcrystalline isotactic polypropylene grown from the surface of high modulus carbon fibers is described. Static microindentation experiments were performed with Knoop and Vickers tips. The Young's moduli of the transcrystalline region were estimated from Knoop microindentation data by using a method recently developed in our laboratory. Data for the different lamellar directions were generated using the Knoop tip, which is sensitive to material anisotropy. We found that the hardness and Young's modulus of the transcrystalline layer are higher by up to 30% when the longer diagonal of the probing Knoop tip is perpendicular to the transcrystalline growth direction, compared to when the diagonal is parallel to that direction. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 523–530, 1999     

Physical and mechanical properties of ultra-oriented high-density polyethylene fibers

Ultra-oriented high-density polyethylene fibers (HDPE) have been prepared by solid-state extrusion over 60–140°C range using capillary draw ratios up to 52 and extrusion pressures of 0.12 to 0.49 GPa. The properties of the fibers have been assessed by birefringence, thermal expansivity, differential scanning calorimetry, x-ray analysis, and mechanical testing. A maximum birefringence of 0.0637 ± 0.0015 was obtained, greater than the calculated value of 0.059 for the intrinsic birefringence of the orthorhombic crystal phase. The maximum modulus obtained was 70 GPa. The melting point, density, crystallinity, and negative thermal expansion coefficient parallel to the fiber axis all increase rapidly with draw ratio and at draw ratios of 20–30 attain limiting values comparable with those of a polyethylene single crystal. The properties of the fibers have been analyzed using the simple rule of mixtures, assuming a two-phase model of crystalline and noncrystalline microstructure. The orientation of the noncrystalline phase with draw ratio was determined by birefringence and x-ray measurements. Solid-state extrusion of HDPE near the ambient melting point produced a c-axis orientation of 0.996 and a noncrystalline orientation function of 0.36. Extrusion 50°C below the ambient melting point produced a decrease in crystallinity, c-axis orientation, melting point, and birefringence, but the noncrystalline orientation increased at low draw ratios and was responsible for the increased thermal shrinkage of the fibers.     

Unexpectedly high young's moduli recorded for iPP/HDPE blends

Young's moduli of a series of quenched isotactic polypropylene/high‐density polyethylene blends were measured. The moduli of many of the blends exceeded the upper bound, calculated from the parallel model with the moduli of the two quenched homopolymers as those of the two components. In fact, both components crystallized at higher temperatures in the blends than they did on their own. It is argued that the higher crystallization temperatures of the components lead to higher component moduli and that this can explain the observation that the measured moduli of the blends apparently exceeded the upper bound. The implications of this work are discussed in light of other studies concerning the measurement and calculation of blend moduli. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1404–1414, 2001     

Effect of molecular weight distribution on the structure and mechanical properties of ultradrawn,ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene cast from solution. I. Thermoluminescence and NMR

Ultradrawing of ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) films produced by gelation/crystallization from solution was investigated using thermoluminescence (TL), DSC, and pulsed NMR. The TL from an x-irradiated UHMW-PE gel film is considerably affected by ultradrawing. The TL glow peak is correlated with the α_c dispersion of the crystalline phase in the UHMW-PE gel film. The TL integrated intensity is weak for folded-chain crystals but strong for extended-chain crystals. An extra higher TL peak, observed for samples drawn 150x, is related to the appearance of some highly extended tie-chains in the interfacial region in the process of ultradrawing. On the basis of the above observations, the effects of molecular weight distribution on the morphology of UHMW-PE gel film are examined. It is concluded that B-PE (Broad MWD) having a broader MWD has better drawability than N-PE; but at a given draw ratio, higher modulus and tensile strength are realized for N-PE (Narrow MWD).     

Heating of polymers during neck propagation

The heating of polyethylene terephthalate, polyamide-66, and polyamide-6 during tensile drawing at room temperature was studied theoretically and experimentally. At a low draw rate, the necking temperature was close to the temperature of the surrounding air. An increase in the rate results in the transition to the adiabatic conditions of drawing. A necking temperature of 140°C was experimentally recorded in polyethylene terephthalate at a draw rate of 1000 mm/min and during the approach to the adiabatic conditions of drawing. A formula describing the dependence of the necking temperature on the draw rate was derived. The resulting value agreed fairly well with the theoretical estimation of the temperature. The drawing (strain) ratio in the neck and the draw stress are the crucial parameters determining the temperature. The rate of the transition to the adiabatic conditions of drawing was determined. The temperatures of adiabatic heating for various polymers were calculated. The increases in the temperatures of polycarbonate and low- and high-density polyethylene are relatively low. The increases in temperature can be regarded as moderate for polypropylene and polyvinyl chloride, while they attain the highest values in polyamide-6 and polyethylene terephthalate owing to the high draw ratios in the neck and the high draw-stress values.     

Plastic deformation of polyethylene II. Change of mechanical properties during drawing

The crystallinity, elastic modulus, and tensile strength of samples of various draw ratios together with the true stress—strain curves of high-density polyethylene were determined to establish correlations with morphological changes occurring during deformation. Changes of crystallinity at draw ratios below 5, i.e., constancy during drawing of quenched film and a decrease during drawing of annealed film, are explained by the formation of microfibrils with crystallinity independent of the thermal history of the film. The microfibrils slide past each other at higher draw ratios, generating an increasing number of interfibrillar tie molecules, which is reflected in the increasing number of interfibrillar tie molecules, which is reflected in the increase of crystallinity, elastic modulus, and tensile strength. From the true stress—strain curves, the differential work density for the deformation of the volume element was calculated as a function of the draw ratio. It contains two components which reflect two different mechanisms of deformation. The first component, decreasing with increasing draw ratio, can be associated with the destruction of the original microspherulitic structure; the second one, increasing with increasing draw ratio, can be associated with the deformation of the new fiber structure, i.e., with the sliding motion of the microfibrils formed during the first deformation step.     

Solid-state coextrusion of poly(ethylene terephthalate). I. Drawing of amorphous PET

Films of uniaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), M _v = 81,000, have been drawn by solid-state coextrusion in the range 40–100°C surrounded by polyethylene. This is well below the PET melting temperature and in some cases below its glass transition temperature. Properties of the extrudates, such as degree of crystallinity, mechanical and thermal properties, were investigated as a function of coextrusion temperature and draw ratio (EDR ≤ 4.4). The results show that the percent crystallinity depends strongly on draw ratio, whereas its sensitivity to extrusion temperature is limited only to the highest draw ratio (4.4). On the other hand, Young's modulus was sensitive to both extrusion temperature and draw ratio, exhibiting a maximum at EDR = 4.4 and T_ext = 65°C. Above this temperature, moduli decrease apparently because of increased chain mobility, resulting in dissipation of chain orientation. Furthermore, changes in yield and tensile strength followed the changes in mechanical properties, suggesting that they are dominated by the same factors. The cold-crystallization temperature T_CC also revealed information about the morphological changes occurring during the extrusion drawing. For samples of EDR = 4.4, T_CC increased with extrusion temperature, suggesting again dissipation of orientation by thermal motions. On the other hand, T_CC decreases with EDR, and a ΔT_CC as high as 73°C was found. Conventional drawing of amorphous PET has been widely reported. To our knowledge this is the first time oriented PET has been prepared using the advantages of solid-state coextrusion.     

Mechanical anisotropy in biaxially oriented polyvinyl chloride

The mechanical anisotropy of polyvinyl chloride oriented in two perpendicular directions with different draw ratios has been studied. The results are compared with the anisotropy of uniaxial samples oriented at a common draw ratio. The propagation velocities of ultrasonic pulses have been measured by an immersion technique. Longitudinal wave velocities have been measured in three principal planes over a wide range of propagation directions. The limitations of measuring velocities in the planes containing the draw axes were mitigated by use of a special slicing technique. Measurements were performed at 2 MH_z and 25°C. Velocities of the transverse waves were measured for incident wave angles greater than the critical angle. From these measurements, five elastic moduli were calculated for the uniaxially oriented samples, and nine elastic moduli were obtained for the biaxially oriented samples. In biaxially oriented samples, the moduli along the draw axes are directly proportional to the draw ratio in the same direction.     

Fiber spinning from the nematic melt. I. Copolyester of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and p-oxybenzoate

The Tennessee Eastman copolyester of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with 60 mol % p-oxybenzoate units was spun with various capillaries using a constant shear rate at the wall. Variables examined were the length-to-diameter ratio L/D of the capillary, the spin draw ratio V_f/V₀, and the spinning temperature. Fibers spun at 260°C showed improved homogeneity of orientation through the cross section, better crystallite orientation, and higher initial moduli as L/D was increased. The spin draw ratio required to optimize these fiber properties decreases as L/D is increased. For example, when L/D = 49.44, the initial modulus has nearly reached its plateau value at a spin draw ratio of 10. However, in contrast to the results of Sugiyama, Lewis, White, and Fellers, we find that some spin draw is always required to optimize fiber properties. Fibers spun with a spin draw ratio of approximately unity showed very poor crystallite orientation and initial moduli. It is suggested that loss of orientation under these conditions may be due to the different velocity profiles in the spinneret and in the solidifed fiber. Fibers were also spun at five temperatures using a capillary having L/D = 49.44. Shear in the capillary is more effective in introducing orientation when the spinning temperature is 260°C or above. At spinning temperatures of 240 and 250°C, the initial modulus increases more slowly with spin draw ratio, and appears to have a lower plateau value. Acierno, La Mantia, Polizzotti, Ciferri, and Valenti spun the same polymer under conditions in which essentially all the orientation was introduced by spin draw. They used a very low extrusion velocity at the spinneret, a small L/D, and spin draw ratios up to 3000. They reported that the initial modulus increased with decreasing spinning temperature, in contrast to our results. Thus the optimum spinning conditions may depend upon whether most of the orientation is introduced by shear in the capillary, or by a high spin draw ratio.     

Effects of humidity on Young's modulus in poly(methyl methacrylate)

Tensile tests on poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were conducted to clarify the effects of humidity and strain rate on tensile properties, particularly Young's modulus. Prior to the tensile tests, specimens were kept under various humidity conditions at 293 K, which were the same as the test conditions, for a few months to adjust the sorbed water content in the specimens. The tensile tests were performed under each humidity condition at three different strain rates (approximately 1.4 × 10^?3, 1.4 × 10^?4, and 1.4 × 10^?5 s^?1). Stress‐strain curves changed with humidity and strain rate. Young's moduli were also measured at small applied stresses (below 6.7 MPa) under various humidity conditions at 293 K. Young's modulus decreases linearly with increasing humidity and a decreasing logarithm of strain rate. These results suggest that Young's modulus of PMMA can be expressed as a function of two independent parameters that are humidity and strain rate. A constitutive equation for Young's modulus of PMMA was proposed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 40: 460–465, 2002; DOI 10.1002/polb.10107     

Rheological evidence for high-temperature phase transitions in melts of high-density polyethylene

Melts of commercial high-density polyethylene (M̄_w = 36–85 × 10³) were subjected to the hydrodynamics of a Haake Rheocord blender at temperatures (T) spanning the normal processing range (190–260°C), far beyond the disappearance of solid crystals at about 140°C. Torque measurements revealed a peculiar dependence on T, including transitions at about 208°C and 227°C, and non-Arrhenius behavior above and below this range. Resemblances to liquid-crystal polymer phenomena are pointed out, and the impact on the melt processing industries is discussed.     

Epitaxial recrystallization of HDPE-quenched ultrathin films on oriented iPP substrates

The recrystallization behavior of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) on the highly oriented isotactic polypropylene (iPP) substrates at temperatures below the melting temperature of HDPE has been investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. The results obtained by the bright-field observation and the electron diffraction show that upon annealing the HDPE-quenched films on the oriented iPP substrates at temperatures below 125°C, only a small amount of HDPE recrystallizes on the iPP substrate with [001]_HDPE//[001]_iPP, while annealing the HDPE-quenched films at temperatures above 125°C, all of the HDPE crystallites recrystallize epitaxially on the iPP substrate with [001]_HDPE//[101]_iPP. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: 35 : 1415–1421, 1997     

Dynamic mechanical and crystal-strain measurements on ultrahigh modulus oriented polyoxymethylene: A revised value for the true crystal modulus

Dynamic mechanical measurements on ultrahigh modulus polyoxymethylene have been undertaken over the temperature range ?150 to 20°C. Measurements of the longitudinal crystal modulus have also been made by studying changes in the (009) reflection with load, over a similar range of temperatures. The dynamic Young's modulus at 5 Hz reaches a value at low temperatures of 64.5 GPa for the most highly oriented sample. The crystal modulus at low temperatures is 105 GPa, which is almost twice the previously reported room-temperature value.     

Modeling the mechanical properties of highly oriented polymer films: A fiber/gel composite theory approach

Controlling the extent of orientation is of great interest in polymer processing and is effected by the choice of polymer, the fabrication technique and the processing conditions. Understanding the crystalline transitions that form highly oriented fibrils is necessary for modeling the changes in physical properties, relative to degree of orientation. A model is proposed to describe the mechanical properties of drawn semicrystalline polymer films based on structural transitions. With a minimal amount of experimental data (requiring testing on only two drawn films samples), this model can be used to predict film properties. These properties include the critical and maximum draw ratios, the moduli at the maximum draw ratio, the moduli of the fiber, the modulus of the nonfibrous gel relative to draw ratio, the volume fraction of fibers, and the rate of fibrillation. Where high degrees of uniaxial orientation are required, the polymer is typically drawn in the solid state, meaning the polymer is stretched in a single direction at temperatures below the melting point. During this process, pre‐existing crystallites are transformed into fiber‐like structures with large aspect ratios. The presence of these rigid asymmetric structures significantly enhances the moduli and break strength of the polymer. This work presents a model that describes the formation of fiber‐like structures. The volume fraction of fibers is predicted to be linear in draw ratio. The derived relationship between volume fraction of fibers and draw ratio can then be used for the prediction of the various properties of the oriented film. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 607–618, 2008