Failure Envelope Curves in Polyethylene Solids

The present work demonstrates that the failure envelope analysis can be applied for characterizing the ultimate tensile properties of polyethylene solids in which the inhomogeneous necking process is avoided. As a result, the ultimate properties are essentially identical to those of vulcanized rubbers above the glass transition temperature, suggesting that tie molecules connecting the fragmented lamellar clusters transmit the external led to the fracture site in the same manner as cross-linked rubbers do. Consideration of this crystal-network model may provide information about the molecular processes that lead to rupture. Furthermore, the present analytical method can possibly be developed for predicting rupture times when different types of tests, such as constant drawn, constant stress and constant rate of stress, are conducted.