DECONVOLUTION OF X-RAY-DIFFRACTION DATA TO ELUCIDATE PLASTIC-DEFORMATION MECHANISMS IN THE UNIAXIAL EXTENSION OF BULK NYLON-6

A least-square peak deconvolution procedure was applied to wide-angle X-ray diffraction data on uniaxially drawn nylon 6 so that pole figures could be generated from clearly separated crystallographic reflections. Beside peak total intensity pole figures a new type of pole figure, based on peak widths, was proposed and proved to be useful in elucidating the mechanisms of plastic deformation in the nylon 6 samples. In uniaxial tension alpha and gamma-crystals of nylon 6 become oriented with macromolecular chains parallel to the drawing direction. In contrast to gamma-crystals, alpha-crystals experience a large amount of breakdown between planes containing hydrogen bonds. Macromolecules that are in the amorphous phases are mostly aligned along the drawing direction and that fraction of the amorphous phase that is so oriented shows the smallest peak width.