| Abstract: | The temperature dependence of tensile creep of plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was tested under differently applied stresses. The steady creep rate showed two distinct stages, depending on stress and temperature. At relatively low stresses the activation energy (0.2 eV) which characterized the steady creep mechanism of stage I, showed no stress sensitivity. Under high stresses (stage II) the energy-activating steady creep was of the order of 1 eV and increased excessively with increasing stress. The model for plastic flow of PVC suggested here assigns the extension of the twisted zigzag molecular conformation to creep in stage I. In stage II creep is controlled by the reorientation of molecular segments by rotation from initially random orientations in a direction parallel to the principal tensile axis. γ Irradiation of the samples before testing increased the steady creep rate and reduced the creep lifetime. This was attributed to chain scission and greater mobility of the molecular segments. |
