ON THE LONG-TIME CREEP AND LIFETIME BEHAVIOR IN UNIAXIAL EXTENSION OF A LINEAR LOW-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE

This paper describes uniaxial creep measurements done on a linear low density polyethylene over a wide range of temperatures and applied stresses. It is found that the creep behavior overall is quite complex and that the one quantity which can best be used to predict useful lifetime of this material is the time at which necking is observed. The time to neck data has been used to generate a composite curve which can serve as an upper bound to lifetime prediction.