Tensile and creep properties of ultra high molecular weight PE fibres

in order to design multimaterial structures made of ultra high molecular weight PE fibres, their main mechanical properties were characterised from tensile and creep tests performed on single filaments or bundles, with various conditions of temperature and loading speed. After having described the experimental procedures, comparisons and deviations between the reported measures and data given by the manufacturer or published elsewhere, have led to interpretations and modelling. Thus, these tests showed the small dependence of the Young's modulus and tensile strength on the strain rate, and gave rise to the description of the drop in mechanical properties near the melting temperature. Also, a constitutive law related to creep behaviour was determined through tensile tests at constant loading for various temperatures. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.