Crazing in polyethylene

Abstract

The tensile stress—strain curves of various types of polyethylene were compared from 77 to 298 K in nitrogen, isopentane, and the inert environment of helium at various strain rates. It was found that in general polyethylene crazes in a gas such as nitrogen at a temperature below 1.6 times its boiling point and in isopentane. Although the behavior of polyethylenes is similar to that of other polymers with regard to crazing in gases at low temperatures, they are in general less sensitive to the gas. The decrease in tensile strength of polyethylene in an environmental gas increases with crystallinity. The differences in the intrinsic low‐temperature brittle fracture stress are attributed to differences in the density of tie molecules. The intrinsic yield point at room temperature showed the usual increase with increasing crystallinity, but all the polyethylenes have the same yield point below the γ transition temperature.