TY - JOUR A1 - Erdmann, Maren A1 - Kupsch, Andreas A1 - Müller, Bernd R. A1 - Hentschel, Manfred P. A1 - Niebergall, Ute A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - Bruno, Giovanni ED - Erdmann, Maren T1 - Diesel-induced transparency of plastically deformed high-density polyethylene N2 - High-density polyethylene becomes optically transparent during tensile drawing when previously saturated with diesel fuel. This unusual phenomenon is investigated as it might allow conclusions with respect to the material behavior. Microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, density measurements are applied together with two scanning X-ray scattering techniques: wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and X-ray refraction, able to extract the spatially resolved crystal orientation and internal surface, respectively. The sorbed diesel softens the material and significantly alters the yielding characteristics. Although the crystallinity among stretched regions is similar, a virgin reference sample exhibits strain whitening during stretching, while the diesel-saturated sample becomes transparent. The WAXS results reveal a pronounced fiber texture in the tensile direction in the stretched region and an isotropic orientation in the unstretched region. This texture implies the formation of fibrils in the stretched region, while spherulites remain intact in the unstretched parts of the specimens. X-ray refraction reveals a preferred orientation of internal surfaces along the tensile direction in the stretched region of virgin samples, while the sample stretched in the diesel-saturated state shows no internal surfaces at all. Besides from stretching saturated samples, optical transparency is also obtained from sorbing samples in diesel after stretching. KW - PE-HD Sorption KW - Cavitation KW - Diesel Fuel KW - X-ray refraction KW - WAXS KW - Internal Surfaces KW - Crystal Texture PY - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03700-8 SN - 1573-4803 SN - 0022-2461 VL - 54 IS - 17 SP - 11739 EP - 11755 PB - Springer US CY - US AN - OPUS4-48226 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erdmann, Maren A1 - Kleinbub, Sherin A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Schütter, Jan David A1 - Niebergall, Ute A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - Koerdt, Andrea T1 - Photo-oxidation of PE-HD affecting polymer/fuel interaction and bacterial attachment N2 - In the present study, a simple approach was used to investigate the effect of UV-exposure on two high density Polyethylene materials (PE-HD), commonly used for storage tanks, on fuel sorption behavior and colonization by microorganisms. The aim was to investigate whether the sorption behavior of the fuels (diesel/biodiesel) and the colonization by microorganisms, frequently occurring in the fuel, is affected and may lead to undesirable or safety-relevant material changes. We showed that the UV-irradiation leads to significant changes of the sorption behavior due to chemi-crystallization and crosslinking. The fuel Sorption is affected by the UV-induced formation of polar carbonyl and hydroxyl groups predominantly occurring at the surface. With respect to microbial colonization behavior for Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from a contaminated diesel sample, differences of the initial adhesion could be shown depending on the initial type of polyethylene as well as on the degree of UV-induced degradation. KW - High density polyethylene KW - Bacterial attachment KW - UV-irradiation KW - Fuel sorption PY - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-510001 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - Article number: 18 PB - Nature Partner Journals AN - OPUS4-51000 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erdmann, Maren A1 - Niebergall, Ute A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Böhning, Martin T1 - Evaluation of UV-induced embrittlement of PE-HD by Charpy impact test N2 - The impact fracture behavior of two common high-density polyethylene grades for container applications were intensively studied by the instrumented Charpy impact test after well-defined exposure to UV-irradiation. Individual stages of the impact event, such as crack initiation and crack propagation energy as well as maximum impact load, were investigated from the recorded load–deflection curves. UV-induced material property changes were further investigated by infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic-mechanical analysis as well as density measurements. Based on the results of the Charpy impact test, three indicators were identified to describe the extend of photooxidation on high-density polyethylene: (a) a reduced Charpy impact strength—at least to half of its initial value for a distinctly brittle impact fracture, (b) a marked decrease in the crack propagation contribution to the impact strength, and (c) an increase of the brittle features of the fracture surface. KW - Degradation KW - Mechanical properties KW - Packaging KW - Polyolefins KW - Polyethylene PY - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-509130 SN - 0021-8995 VL - 137 IS - 36 SP - 49069 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-50913 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Erdmann, Maren A1 - Böhning, Martin A1 - Niebergall, Ute T1 - Physical and chemical effects of biodiesel storage on high-density polyethylene: Evidence of co-oxidation N2 - The physical and chemical effects of diesel and biodiesel fuels on two high-density polyethylene (PE-HD) types were investigated. Both semi-crystalline PE-HD are common thermoplastic materials for container and storage tank applications. Biodiesel, a composition of unsaturated fatty acid esters from renewable resources, was chosen as it is regarded a possible green alternative to fossil fuels. The study aims at identifying significant differences between biodiesel and conventional diesel fuels based on the differences in the chemical nature of the two. The physical effects of the fuels on the polymer at first comprises the sorption behavior, i.e. kinetics and final equilibrium concentration. Not only are both fuels absorbed by the amorphous phase of the semi-crystalline PE-HD, they also induce a plasticization effect that modifies the molecular mobility and therefore also the characteristic yielding properties, manifest in the obtained stress-strain curves. The chemical effects related to degradation phenomena is investigated by a long-term storage scenario using partially immersed tensile test specimens in diesel and biodiesel. We were able to confirm the proposed co-oxidation mechanism by Richaud et al. for polyethylene-unsaturated penetrant systems on a larger scale based on practical tensile tests. One of the investigated polyethylene grades subjected to tensile drawing showed a significant loss of plastic deformation and the onset of premature failure after 150 days of storage in biodiesel. Further biodiesel storage showed a systematically reduced elongation at break before necking. None of these effects were observed in diesel. Oxidation of fuels and polymer after progressing storage times were analyzed by the evolution of carbonyl species in FT-IR/ATR spectroscopy. KW - Biodiesel KW - Degradation KW - Long-term storage KW - Sorption KW - Diesel PY - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2019.01.018 SN - 0141-3910 VL - 161 IS - 1 SP - 139 EP - 149 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-47268 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -