| Abstract: | Drawn fibers of polypropylene have been shown to undergo spontaneous stiffening during storage for several weeks at room temperature after being quenched from higher temperatures below the melting region. The effect occurs in both drawn and undrawn fibers and does not depend on the details of heat treatment prior to the quench. Stress relaxation and density data are in quantitative agreement with an explanation in terms of a gradual collapse of free volume during storage. The effect appears to be identical to “physical aging” previously observed in isotropic molded samples of polypropylene. |
