PREPARATION OF HIGH MODULUS POLYETHYLENE SHEET BY THE ROLLER-DRAWING METHOD

The high density polyethylene (HDPE) sheets were drawn through a pair of heated rollers. The process, referred to as roller drawing, was found to be useful for producing high modulus and high strength HDPE sheets. The higher draw ratio could be obtained for the HDPE sheet with lower molecular weight and narrower molecular weight distribution. The measurements of wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) pole figures revealed that the crystallographic a-, b-, and c-axes were oriented to the normal direction (ND), the traverse direction (TD), and the drawing direction (DD), respectively. The relationship between mechanical properties and microstructure was discussed on the basis of the concept of the formation of amorphous tie molecules in the interfibrillar and intercrystallite regions.