MEASUREMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CRACKING RESISTANCE (ESCR) USING NOTCH-FREE SPECIMENS

摘要

Transverse loading on a plate specimen has been explored as an alternative method (named plate test) to ASTM D1693 for characterizing environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of polyethylene (PE). The plate test does not require any pre-notch in the specimens to initiate the crack growth. Rather, the crack is generated during the test, initiated by the constraints for lateral contraction in the necking process. This paper introduces the set-up for the plate test, describes the deformation process, presents preliminary results for 4 types of PE, and compares results from the plate test with those from ASTM D1693.