Polymer, Vol.39, No.20, 4773-4783, 1998
Mechanical properties of plasticized poly(vinylchloride) : effect of drawing and filler orientation
Reinforcement of plasticized poly(vinylchloride) was achieved by the use of two anisotropic fillers : talc and a lead carboxylate. The orientation of such fillers was developed during the extrusion processing. Then, in the present paper, we studied the correlations between extrusion conditions (draw ratio, temperature), development of particle orientation (talc, lead stabilizer) and tensile properties of a plasticized polyvinylchloride. X-ray diffraction measurements have allowed us to analyse orientation of the particles which also became evident through tensile property results. This work shows that talc is a good candidate for filling PVC formulations. Furthermore, good orientation is achieved with the extrusion conditions used. Moreover, the orientation of the lead stabilizer which has a lamellar shape leads to an increase in Young's modulus. The enhancement of the Young's modulus obtained by these two fillers is well modelled by the Halpin and Tsai law, considering that the platelets are oriented in the stretching direction. Concerning drawing, the stretching temperature has proved to be of particular importance, especially when it is above or below the temperature of the 'gel-liquid' transition of PVC, found to be around 205 degrees C.