Laboratory Report 2017/2018

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

LABORATORY REPORT
PTT 366 / POLYMER PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY

NO. OF EXPERIMENT & TITLE: EXPERIMENT 3

TENSILE TEST OF POLYMER

Group & Students Name: A2

1. Ahmad Taufiq Bin Mahadi (151342428)
2. Alvin Anak Duke (151343585)
3. Ili Syamimi Binti Mohamad Saad (151342440)
4. Muhammad Sofi Bin Suhaimai (151342453)
5. Prola Gabil Binti Pindah (151342472)
6. Tan Sally (151343596)

Lecturers/PLV’S Name: Dr. Shuit Siew Hoong

Miss Nor Munirah Rohaizab
En. Mohd Qalani Che Kasim

Date of Experiment: 6.3.2018 Date of Submission: 13.3.2018

 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

OBJECTIVES :
1. To examine the tensile strength of different polymer materials

INTRODUCTION :

Results are used for the selection of materials for various purposes considering how it will
react under different types of forces. The property is measured by using UTS (ultimate tensile
strength) where the maximum elongation and reduction in area is occurring. The properties that
analyse also can be determined by using young modulus, potions ratio and yield strength for the
test. For the tensile test, it can be done by using uniaxial tensile testing for isotropic materials and
biaxial tensile testing for composite materials. Tensile testing is a way determining on how
something will react when it is pulled apart-when forced is applied to it in tension where the tensile
test is place between two fixtures called grips which clamp the materials. For this experiment, the
combination of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate along the carbon chains are used for tensile test.

Tensile testing is one of the simplest and most widely used mechanical tests. By measuring
the force required to elongate a specimen to breaking point, material properties can be determined
that will allow designer to predict how materials and products will behave in their intended
applications. Along the tensile profile there are many points of interest chief for the elastic limit
and force to break or failure point. Types of tensile testing can be used for adhesion or bond
strength, crimp joint pull-off force, peel ,tear resistance. The advantages of tensile testing are
providing data on the integrity and safety of the materials, components and products, helping
manufacturers ensure that their finished product are fit-for-purpose and manufactured to the
highest quality. The data produced in a tensile test can be used in many ways including
determination of batch quality, consistency in manufacture, aid in the design process, reduce
material costs and achieve lean manufacturing goals, ensure compliance with international and
industry standard. Hence factor influencing tensile strength are the effect of additives and
impurities, temperature and geometric size and shape.
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

METHODOLOGY (FLOW CHART) :

PVA film was cut into a rectangular shaped with 60 mm x 10 mm dimension

and lined was marked at 10 mm at both end of the rectangular thin film.

The procedure was repeated for GA cross-linked PVA thin film and plastic bag

For tensile strength test, texture analyser was switched on and the axis graph was
force vs. time and the unit was checked at both axis.

The weight was calibrated by clicking T.A at the window bar by choosing
‘calibrate weight’ and 5000g was weight at calibration point. The weight was
removed after calibration done.

The height was calibrated by clicking T.A at the window bar by choosing
‘calibrate height’ and the height was set at a value of ‘return distance’ as 30 mm

Tension mode was chosen and set valued for the both pretest and postest speed
was at 10 mm/s for distance target mode was set at 200 mm as the distance.

Set value for data acquisition was set at 200 then the test was started.

The gradient curve was obtained from the graph at data analysis.

Force and gradient was saved at in excel spreadsheet and the analysis was
repeated for another thin film.
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

RESULTS:

PVA (without cross-linking)

Sample Load (kg m s-2) Distance (m) Time (s)

1 1364.592 -20.683 2.090
2 2356.519 -73.933 7.415
3 1018.152 -20.683 2.090
4 2010.711 -86.933 8.715
5 506.943 -20.683 2.090
6 897.063 -65.583 6.580

PVA (with cross-linking)

Sample Load (kg m s-2) Distance (m) Time (s)

1 1852.025 -112.033 11.225
2 1855.263 -112.883 11.310
3 1852.025 -112.033 11.225
4 1855.263 -112.883 11.310

Supermarket Plastic Bag

Sample Load (kg m s-2) Distance (m) Time (s)

1 335.561 -1.783 0.200
2 409.814 -2.683 0.290
3 462.028 -1.683 0.196
4 321.026 -2.333 0.255
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

Cross-sectional area = Distance (mm) x Thickness (mm)

= 10 mm x 0.5 mm
= 5 mm2

PVA (without cross-linking)

(1364.592 + 2356.519 + 1018.152 + 2010.711 + 506.943 + 897.063)
Average load (kg m s-2) = 6

= 1358.9967 kg m s-2

Average load taken to break the film

Tensile strength (kg m-1s-2) = Cross sectional area of the film

= 1358.9967 kg m s-2 / 5 mm2

10−6 m2
= 1358.9967 kg m s-2 / ( 5 mm2 × )
mm2

= 2.72 x 108 kg m-1 s-2

PVA (with cross-linking)

(1852.025 + 1855.263 + 1852.025 + 1855.263)
Average load (kg m s-2) = 4

= 1853.644 kg m s-2

Average load taken to break the film

Tensile strength (kg m-1 s-2) = Cross sectional area of the film

= 1853.644 kg m s-2 / 5 mm2

10−6 m2
= 1853.644 kg m s-2 / ( 5 mm2 × )
mm2

= 3.71 x 108 kg m-1 s-2

Supermarket Plastic Bag

(335.561 + 409.814 + 462.028 + 321.016)
Average load (kg m s-2) = 4

= 382.1048 kg m s-2
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

Average load taken to break the film

Tensile strength (kg m-1 s-2) = Cross sectional area of the film

= 382.1048 kg m s-2 / 5 mm2

10−6 m2
= 382.1048 kg m s-2 / ( 5 mm2 × )
mm2

= 7.64 x 107 kg m-1 s-2

 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

DISCUSSION:
7.1 Compare and explain the tensile strength of pure PVA, the GA cross-linked PVA and
supermarket plastic bag.

The strength of a material is commonly determined by finding its tensile strength or the
force needed to pull the material apart. Based on the result, tensile strength for cross-linked PVA
of 3.71 x 108 kg m−1 s −2 is the highest compared to pure PVA (2.72 x 108 kg m−1 s−2 ) and
plastic (7.64 x 107 kg m−1 s −2 ).

This is because the pure PVA has lowest ductility and a brittle material. For GA cross-
linked PVA, glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent. Its function was to introduce the
cross-linking process and increased the tensile strength of the film. However, when the film has
high tensile strength, it has low elongation at break and tensile modulus. So, it reduced the
extensibility and flexibility of the films.

Rigid plastics, especially fiber reinforced ones, often exhibit values under 5%. The
combination of high ultimate tensile strength and high elongation leads to materials of high
toughness. The tensile modulus is the ratio of stress to elastic strain in tension. A high tensile
modulus means that the material is rigid - more stress is required to produce a given amount of
strain. In polymers, the tensile modulus and compressive modulus can be close or may vary widely.
This variation may be 50% or more, depending on resin type, reinforcing agents, and processing
methods. The tensile and compressive moduli are often very close for metals. The tensile strength
is difference for difference material and method so, the tensile strength of plastic bag is depend on
the material and method is used to make the plastic bag.
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

7.2 Besides texture analyzer, state the equipment that can be used to perform tensile strength
analysis.

The equipment that can be used to perform tensile strength analysis is Instron. This is
because Instron has used its wealth of applications and engineering experience to produce the most
extensive range of accessories for materials testing instruments in the industry. Instron is made up
of hundreds of grips, fixtures, load cells, and other accessories. The vast range of general purpose
and application-focused accessories are designed to help people get the most from the materials
testing system.

Typical materials and standards used for tensile test:

Ceramics - ISO 15733, ISO 15490, ISO 17561

Composites - MIL-HDBK-17, ISO 527 (Parts 4 & 5 on FRP composites)

Elastomers and rubber - ASTM D412, ISO 37

Metals - ASTM E8 (at room temperature, E21 (high temperature, BS EN 10002, ISO 6892 (at
ambient temperature), ISO 783 (elevated temperature), ISO 15579 (at low temperature)

Paper - ASTM D828, ISO 1924 (Parts 1 & 2), ISO 3781

Plastics - ISO 527, ASTM D638

Textiles and yarns - ASTM D76, D3822, D2256, D2653, ISO 9073 (Part 3 on nonwovens), ISO
13934, ISO 13935

Wood - ISO 9086, 3345, 3346

 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

7.3 Besides tensile strength, what are the other important properties that can be used to represent
the strength of polymer materials.

The other important properties that can be used to represent the strength of polymer
materials include identity of the constituent monomers of the polymer and microstructure.
Microstructure is essentially describe the arrangement of the monomers within the polymer at the
scale of a single chain. These basic structural properties play a major role in determining bulk
physical properties of the polymer, which describe how the polymer behaves as a continuous
macroscopic material. Chemical properties, at the nano-scale, describe how the chains interact
through various physical forces. At the macro-scale, they describe how the bulk polymer interacts
with other chemicals and solvent.

a) Monomers and repeat units

The identity of the repeat units (monomer residues, also known as "mers") comprising a
polymer is its first and most important attribute. Polymer nomenclature is generally based upon
the type of monomer residues comprising the polymer. Polymers that contain only a single type of
repeat unit are known as homopolymers, while polymers containing two or more types of repeat
units are known as copolymers. Terpolymers contain three types of repeat units.

Poly(styrene), for example, is composed only of styrene monomer residues, and is therefore
classified as a homopolymer. Ethylene-vinyl acetate, on the other hand, contains more than one
variety of repeat unit and is thus a copolymer. Some biological polymers are composed of a variety
of different but structurally related monomer residues; for example, polynucleotides such as DNA

are composed of four types of nucleotide subunits. A polymer molecule containing ionizable
subunits is known as a polyelectrolyte or ionomer.
b) Microstructure

The microstructure of a polymer (sometimes called configuration) relates to the physical

arrangement of monomer residues along the backbone of the chain. These are the elements of
polymer structure that require the breaking of a covalent bond in order to change. Structure has a
strong influence on the other properties of a polymer. For example, two samples of natural rubber
may exhibit different durability, even though their molecules comprise the same monomers.

i)Polymer architecture

An important microstructural feature of a polymer is its architecture and shape, which

relates to the way branch points lead to a deviation from a simple linear chain. A branched
polymer molecule is composed of a main chain with one or more substituent side chains or
branches. Types of branched polymers include star polymers, comb polymers, brush
polymers, dendronized polymers, ladder polymers, and dendrimers. There exist also two-
dimensional polymers which are composed of topologically planar repeat units. A polymer's
architecture affects many of its physical properties including, but not limited to, solution viscosity,
melt viscosity, solubility in various solvents, glass transition temperature and the size of individual
polymer coils in solution. A variety of techniques may be employed for the synthesis of a
polymeric material with a range of architectures, for example Living polymerization.

ii)Chain length

The physical properties of a polymer are strongly dependent on the size or length of the
polymer chain. For example, as chain length is increased, melting and boiling temperatures
increase quickly. Impact resistance also tends to increase with chain length, as does the viscosity,
or resistance to flow, of the polymer in its molten state. Melt viscosity ŋ is related to polymer chain
length Z roughly as ŋ~Z3.2, so that a tenfold increase in polymer chain length results in a viscosity
increase of over 1000 times. Increasing chain length furthermore tends to decrease chain mobility,
increase strength and toughness, and increase the glass transition temperature (Tg). This is a result
of the increase in chain interactions such as Van der Waals attractions and entanglements that
come with increased chain length. These interactions tend to fix the individual chains more
strongly in position and resist deformations and matrix breakup, both at higher stresses and higher
temperatures.

A common means of expressing the length of a chain is the degree of polymerization,

which quantifies the number of monomers incorporated into the chain. As with other molecules, a
polymer's size may also be expressed in terms of molecular weight. Since synthetic polymerization
techniques typically yield a polymer product including a range of molecular weights, the weight
is often expressed statistically to describe the distribution of chain lengths present in the same.
Common examples are the number average molecular weight and weight average molecular
weight. The ratio of these two values is the polydispersity index, commonly used to express the
"width" of the molecular weight distribution. A final measurement is contour length, which can be
understood as the length of the chain backbone in its fully extended state. The flexibility of an
unbranched chain polymer is characterized by its persistence length.

iii)Monomer arrangement in copolymers

Monomers within a copolymer may be organized along the backbone in a variety of ways. A
copolymer containing a controlled arrangement of monomers is called a sequence-controlled
polymer. The simple examples of sequence-controlled polymers are alternating, periodic and block
copolymers.

iv)Tacticity

Tacticity describes the relative stereochemistry of chiral centers in neighbouring structural

units within a macromolecule. There are three types: isotactic (all substituents on the same
side), atactic (random placement of substituents), and syndiotactic (alternating placement of
substituents).
c) Morphology

Polymer morphology generally describes the arrangement and microscale ordering of

polymer chains in space.

i)Crystallinity

When applied to polymers, the term crystalline has a somewhat ambiguous usage. In some
cases, the term crystalline finds identical usage to that used in conventional crystallography. For
example, the structure of a crystalline protein or polynucleotide, such as a sample prepared for x-
ray crystallography, may be defined in terms of a conventional unit cell composed of one or more
polymer molecules with cell dimensions of hundreds of angstroms or more.

A synthetic polymer may be loosely described as crystalline if it contains regions of three-

dimensional ordering on atomic (rather than macromolecular) length scales, usually arising from
intramolecular folding and/or stacking of adjacent chains. Synthetic polymers may consist of both
crystalline and amorphous regions; the degree of crystallinity may be expressed in terms of a
weight fraction or volume fraction of crystalline material. Few synthetic polymers are entirely
crystalline. The crystallinity of polymers is characterized by their degree of crystallinity, ranging
from zero for a completely non-crystalline polymer to one for a theoretical completely crystalline
polymer. Polymers with microcrystalline regions are generally tougher (can be bent more without
breaking) and more impact-resistant than totally amorphous polymers.

Polymers with a degree of crystallinity approaching zero or one will tend to be transparent,
while polymers with intermediate degrees of crystallinity will tend to be opaque due to light
scattering by crystalline or glassy regions. Thus for many polymers, reduced crystallinity may also
be associated with increased transparency.
ii)Chain conformation

The space occupied by a polymer molecule is generally expressed in terms of radius of

gyration, which is an average distance from the center of mass of the chain to the chain itself.
Alternatively, it may be expressed in terms of pervaded volume, which is the volume of solution
spanned by the polymer chain and scales with the cube of the radius of gyration.

d) Mechanical properties.

The bulk properties of a polymer are those most often of end-use interest. These are the
properties that dictate how the polymer actually behaves on a macroscopic scale.

i)Young's modulus of elasticity

Young's modulus quantifies the elasticity of the polymer. It is defined, for small strains, as
the ratio of rate of change of stress to strain. Like tensile strength, this is highly relevant in polymer
applications involving the physical properties of polymers, such as rubber bands. The modulus is
strongly dependent on temperature. Viscoelasticity describes a complex time-dependent elastic
response, which will exhibit hysteresis in the stress-strain curve when the load is
removed. Dynamic mechanical analysis or DMA measures this complex modulus by oscillating
the load and measuring the resulting strain as a function of time.

e)Transport properties

Transport properties such as diffusivity relate to how rapidly molecules move through the
polymer matrix. These are very important in many applications of polymers for films and
membranes.
 Laboratory Report 2017/2018

CONCLUSION:
Based on the result obtained, it is shown that the PVA with cross-linking have a higher
tensile strength which is 3.71 x 108 kg m-1 s-2 compared to PVA without cross-linking which only
own 2.72 x 108 kg m-1 s-2 of tensile strength.

In the other way, the tensile strength of plastic bag is much lower compared to PVA with
cross-linking and without cross-linking which is only 7.64 x 107 kg m−1 s −2 .

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