Uniaxial deformation behavior of different polypropylene cast films at temperatures near the melting point

A new apparatus for stretching polypropylenes at elevated temperatures below the melting point at high deformation speeds (up to 750 mm/s) is described. In the temperature range of 140-160 °C the tensile behavior of polypropylene undergoes a shift from the ductile to the quasi-rubber-like deformation behavior. Furthermore, the deformation behavior is strongly affected by the strain rate. The homogeneity of sample deformation increases with the deformation rate. Furthermore, the influence of the cast film morphology on the uniaxial deformation behavior is investigated and discussed in terms of the degree of crystallinity and crystallite size. The degree of the residual crystallinity plays a decisive role for the deformation behavior. At similar degree of crystallinity, the yield stress is significantly influenced by the crystallite size in a way that the larger the crystallite size the higher the yield stress.