It has been recently discovered that polymers craze at low temperatures in the presence of nitrogen or argon. A quantitative theory has been developed which explains (1) the critical temperature above which the phenomenon disappears, (2) the critical stress for nucleating a craze, (3) the effect of strain rate on the yield point and size of crazes, (4) the drop in the load during craze yielding, and (5) the increase in strength of the polymer in N2 or Ar at high strain rates so that the ultimate strength may exceed that in He or vacuum. The crazing action of the gases is described qualitatively at the molecular level.
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Norman Brown (1973) studied this question.