Toughening high density polyethylene submitted to extreme ambient temperatures

The use of polyethylene is limited due to its low impact strength among other mechanical properties at extreme ambient temperatures, for example at −46 °C and 66 °C. In this work, different polymer components, such as ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), were incorporated in high density polyethylene (HDPE) to test their ability to improve toughness of HDPE at extreme ambient temperatures. The polymer blends were processed by extrusion and injection molding and characterized by rotational rheometry, electron microscopy, thermal analysis, tensile, impact and dynamic mechanical tests. The results showed that low concentrations of EVA and UHMWPE in HDPE increased substantially the impact strength of HDPE at room temperature as well as in extreme ambient temperatures (−46 °C and 66 °C). This result indicates that these HDPE blends can be considered good candidates to replace pure HDPE in applications in which high values of toughness are required at extreme ambient temperatures.