Essential Work of Fracture Parameters of in-situ Microfibrillar Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/Polyethylene Blend: Influences of Blend Composition

✍ Scribed by Zhong-Ming Li; Wei Yang; Rui Huang; Xiang-Ping Fang; Ming-Bo Yang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2004
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 283 KB
• Volume: 289
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1438-7492
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.200300397

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Summary: An in‐situ microfibrillar blend based on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and polyethylene (PE) was fabricated through slit die extrusion, hot‐stretching and quenching. The morphology of the PET in‐situ microfibers, which were observed after the matrix was etched away, appears to be dependent on the blend composition at a fixed hot stretch ratio. The well‐defined in‐situ fibers were generated at the PET concentrations ranging from 15 to 25 wt.‐%. The fracture toughness of the microfibrillar blend was evaluated using deeply double‐edge notched tension (DDENT) specimens according to the essential work of fracture procedure. Initially, the increase of PET concentration makes w~e~ rise. At 15 wt.‐% of PET concentration there exists a maximum w~e~. Further increase of PET microfibers causes a rapid decrease of w~e~. On the other hand, incorporation of PET microfibers at a low concentration to PE makes w~p~ rise slightly. As it exceeds 10 wt.‐%, w~p~ decreases substantially. It was believed that the characteristics of the PET microfibers were responsible for the fracture behaviors of the microfibrillar blend.

Morphology of PET microfibers in the PET/PE microfibrillar blend in which the matrix PE was etched away by hot xylene.

imageMorphology of PET microfibers in the PET/PE microfibrillar blend in which the matrix PE was etched away by hot xylene.