On the Environmental Stress Cracking Resistance of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12974/2311-8717.2020.08.5Keywords:
Polyethylene, Environmental stress cracking, Molecular weight, Additives.Abstract
This research reports a visualization investigation of environmental stress cracking (ESC) of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) prepared in house and a commercial high-density polyethylene. The in house made HDPE showed an excellent resistance against ESC as none of the tested samples cracked under chemical solution and that was due to higher value of molecular weight and less percentage of chain branching. On the other hand, the commercial HDPE had poor resistance against ESC under chemical solution, as all tested samples was cracked and completely splitted up into two pieces. An interesting finding of this research was that the commercial HDPE of relatively lower molecular weight cracked when stressed within the environment of ordinary water. Finally, this research recommended a thorough investigation of the role of additives and fillers on the ESC resistant of Polyethylene.
References
Needham AD, Smith JWN, Gallagher EMG. The service life of polyethylene geomembrane barriers. Eng Geol 2006; 85: 82-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enggeo.2005.09.030
Marshall GP, Culver LE, Williams JG. Environmental stress crack growth in low density polyethylenes. Plast Polym 1970; 38:95-101.
Brown HR. A theory of the environmental stress cracking of polyethylene. Polymer 1978; 19: 1186-1188. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-3861(78)90069-1
Bandyopadhyay S, Brown HR. Environmental stress cracking of low molecular weight high density polyethylene. Polymer 1981; 22: 245-249. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-3861(81)90207-X
Bubeck RA. Kinetics of environmental stress cracking in high density polyethylene. Polymer 1981; 22: 682-686. https://doi.org/10.1016/0032-3861(81)90361-X
Aiba M, Osawa ZO. Effect of ultra-high molecular weight species in high-density polyethylenes on the resistance to creep failure by a surface active agent. Polym Degrad Stab 1998; 61: 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-3910(97)00117-1
Cheng JJ, Polak MA, Penlidis A. Influence of macromolecular structure on environmental stress cracking resistance of high density polyethylene. Tunn. Underg. Space Tech 2011; 26: 582-593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tust.2011.02.003
Huang Y, Brown N. The effect of molecular weight on slow cracking growth in linear polyethylene homopolymers. J Mater Sci 1988; 23: 3648-3655. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00540508
Munaro M, Akcelrud L. Polyethylene blends: A correlation study between morphology and environmental resistance. Polym Degrad Stab 2008; 93: 43-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2007.10.017
Khodabandelou M, Razavi Aghjeh MK, Rezaei M. Fracture behavior and environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of HIPS/PE blends and the effect of compatibilization on their properties. Eng Fract Mech 2009; 76: 2856-2867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfracmech.2009.07.024
Li R. Environmental degradation of wood-HDPE composite. Polym Degrad Stab 2000; 70: 135-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0141-3910(00)00099-9
Alsaygh AA, Al-hamidi J, Alsewailem FD, Al-Najjar IM, Kuznetsov VL. Characterization of polyethylene synthesized by zirconium single site catalysts. Appl Petrochem Res 2014; 4: 79-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13203-014-0053-2