| Abstract: | The stress-strain diagrams of undrawn and drawn polyethylene terephthalate were measured at room temperature and above the glass transition temperature. Before the stress-strain measurements the undrawn samples had been crystallized at various temperatures, whereas the drawn samples had been crystallized in the undrawn state, then were drawn at various temperatures and finally were crystallized again. The influence of the temperature of crystallization and the temperature of drawing on the Young's modulus, the tensile strength, and the fracture strain were of special interest. The fracture strain as a function of the crystallization temperature shows a minimum at room temperature. This minimum disappears above the glass transition temperature. Young's modulus and tensile strength generally are found the higher, the higher the degree of orientation in the sample. Crystallization of the undrawn samples therefore does not change these values significantly. But a drawing of the samples leads to a significant increase which is still more pronounced if the sample is crystallized after the drawing. Crystallization before drawing of a sample leads to a decrease of Young's modulus and tensile strength because in this case apparently the formation of a sufficient orientation during the drawing cannot take place. An increase of the drawing temperature above the glass transition temperature also leads to a decrease in the mentioned values. |
