The effect of externally applid stresses on the structure of an ethylene‐rich EPDM terpolymer

Abstract

Structural changes in an ethylene-rich ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM) were studied as a function of applied external stress. From its initial unstretched value of is%, the terpolymer crystallinity increased to 73 % at a tensile strain of 225 %. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that, when stretched, the terpolymer assumed a hexagonal structure and an increase in the until cell a-dimension occurred. A fibre texture developed with the lamellae inclined to the tensile axis.