| Abstract: | Measurements of permeability and diffusivity have been undertaken for the gases helium and oxygen in a range of highly oriented polyethylene films. The solubilities deduced for both gases are proportional to the amorphous volume fraction, showing that the noncrystalline regions are the transport medium in all instances. The changes in diffusion coefficient are more complex. A large reduction in diffusion coefficient is observed with increasing draw ratio, and this is particularly marked in the case of the larger oxygen molecule, where significant differences are also observed for different grades of polymer and different drawing conditions. These changes in diffusion coefficient are discussed in the light of previous studies of diffusion in polymers and present knowledge of the changes in structure produced by drawing. |
