Effect of drawing condition on mechanical properties and molecular orientation of self-reinforced poly(lactic acid) screws

Effects of extrusion ratio (ER) during extruding on mechanical properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) screws were investigated in terms of shear and twist strength. Shear strength increased by drawing, while twist strength decreased. This might be due to orientation of molecular chains during drawing. In order to evaluate orientation of molecular chains, orientation function in extruded billets was measured as a function of ER. Since orientation function increased with ER, drawing is effective method to improve shear strength of screw, where fibrous structure which was formed during extruding resisted shear stress in cross-section perpendicular to screw axis. Although orientation functions for billet extruded at ER 1.3–4 were equivalent, both strengths changed for the screw extruded at the range of this ER. Infrared spectra suggested transforming from α to β crystal for the billet extruded at the range of this ER. This result suggested that mechanical properties of screw also depended on the crystal forms.