Cross-Linked Thermoplastic Blends of Polyethylene with an Elastomer 2. Some Structural Characteristics and Their Relationship with Mechanical Properties

Results of an experimental investigation into the changes of some structural characteristics of binary blends of high-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene with an elastomer (ethylene-propylene-dicyclopentadiene terpolymer, EPDM) in the course of γ-radiation and chemical cross-linking are reported for a wide range of component ratios. The data on changes in the crystallinity, density of the blends, content of the cross-linked part, as well the correlation of these characteristics with some mechanical properties, are discussed. Suggestions are put forward about the possibility of formation of a combined amorphous PE-EPDM phase with a higher structural arrangement than that in the individual components.__________Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 545–562, July–August, 2005.