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 - 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 - TY - JOUR A1 - Scholz, Philipp A1 - Wachtendorf, Volker A1 - Elert, Anna Maria A1 - Falkenhagen, Jana A1 - Becker, Roland A1 - Hoffmann, Katrin A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Tschiche, Harald A1 - Reinsch, Stefan A1 - Weidner, Steffen ED - Scholz, Philipp T1 - Analytical toolset to characterize polyurethanes after exposure to artificial weathering under systematically varied moisture conditions N2 - Polyether and -ester urethanes (PU) were exposed to artificial weathering at 40 °C and artificial UV radiation in a weathering chamber. In 3 parallel exposures, humidity was varied between dry, humid, and wet conditions. Material alteration was investigated by various analytical techniques like size exclusion chromatography (SEC), liquid chromatography-infrared spectroscopy (LC-FTIR), thermal-desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS), fluorescence mapping and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Our results show that depending on the weathering conditions, different degradation effects can be observed. By means of SEC an initial strong decrease of the molar masses and a broadening of the mass distributions was found. After a material dependent time span this was followed by a plateau where molar mass changes were less significant. A minor moisture-dependent degradation effect was only found for polyester PU. Fluorescence measurements on two materials revealed an increase in the luminescence intensity upon weathering process reaching a saturation level after about 500 h. The changes in the optical properties observed after different exposure conditions and times were very similar. The TD-GC-MS data showed the fate of the stabilizers and antioxidant in the course of weathering. LC-FTIR measurements revealed a change in peak intensities and the ratio of urethane and carbonyl bands. KW - Polyurethane KW - Artificial weathering KW - Moisture KW - Crosslinking KW - Degradation PY - 2019 UR - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941819303708 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymertesting.2019.105996 SN - 0142-9418 VL - 78 SP - 105996, 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam AN - OPUS4-48625 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schartel, Bernhard A1 - Humphrey, J.K. A1 - Gibson, A.G. A1 - Hörold, Andreas A1 - Trappe, Volker A1 - Gettwert, V. T1 - Assessing the structural integrity of carbon-fibre sandwich panels in fire: Bench-scale approach N2 - The fire resistance of lightweight sandwich panels (SW) with carbon fibre/epoxy skins and a poly(methacryl imide) (PMI) foam core is investigated in compression under direct application of a severe flame (heat flux=200 kW m−2). A bench-scale test procedure was used, with the sample held vertically. The epoxy decomposition temperature was quickly exceeded, with rapid flash-over and progressive core softening and decomposition. There is a change in failure mode depending on whether the load is greater or less than 50% of the unexposed failure load, or in other words if one or two skins carry the load. At high loads, failure involved both skins with a single clear linear separation across each face. There is an inflection in the failure time relationship in the ∼50% load region, corresponding to the time taken for heat to be transmitted to the rear face, along with a change in the rear skin failure mode from separation to the formation of a plastic hinge. The integrity of the carbon front face, even with the resin burnt out, and the low thermal diffusivity of the core, both play key roles in prolonging rear face integrity, something to be borne in mind for future panel design. Intumescent coatings prolong the period before failure occurs. The ratio of times to failure with and without protection is proposed as a measure of their effectiveness. Apart from insulation properties, their adhesion and stability under severe fire impact play a key role. KW - Carbon fibres KW - Sandwich KW - Structural composites KW - Fracture KW - High-temperature properties KW - Surface treatments PY - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compositesb.2018.11.077 SN - 1359-8368 VL - 164 SP - 82 EP - 89 PB - Elsevier AN - OPUS4-46908 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -