TIT# Exploring a pathway for time-resolved studies of polymer
     fatigue related to nanostructure evolution
AUT# Zeinolebadi, Ahmad; Stribeck, Norbert;
SOU# J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. (2010), submitted, 000000-(7pp)
LOC# xv125
CLA#
COM#
APP#
MAT#
ABS# An uniaxially oriented polymer blend based on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that is
     reinforced by polyamide 6 microfibrils is subjected to slow mechanical fatigue tests. Simultaneously, the
     nanostructure evolution is monitored by two-dimensional (2D) patterns of the small-angle X-ray scattering
     (SAXS). The objective is to demonstrate that subtle changes of macroscopic strain and nanostructure
     parameters can be recorded with an accuracy that is sufficient to detect mechanisms that relate fatigue
     and nanostructure variation.
     The macroscopic deformation of the material is recorded by a video camera and the captured pictures
     are analyzed by automated image processing methods to compute the macroscopic strain. From the 2D
     patterns the multidimensional chord distribution function (CDF) is calculated, and the scattering power
     Q is determined. Peaks of the CDF that are related to the semicrystalline domain structure inside the
     HDPE are identified. The position of their centers of gravity is tracked automatically from the voluminous
     series of scattering patterns. The resulting curves demonstrate the relation between mechanical load and
     nanostructure evolution.