Investigation of the ductility of rolled polymers

The effect of cold rolling on the mechanical properties of polymers, viz., acetal, nylon 66, poly(vinyl chloride) and polycarbonate has been studied. The yield strength, Young's modulus, and hardness increase with increasing cold work, except for a slight drop in these properties at low values of cold work. The ductility increases with rolling to a maximum and drops with further reduction. At the same time, the tensile strength increases continuously with rolling. This conspicuous occurrence of the increase in ductility with a simultaneous increase in tensile strength for polymers, unlike that in metals, is explained considering the morphological changes produced in polymers upon cold rolling. It is shown that this typical behavior is not due to the unique loading or heating and cooling cycle involved in the rolling process.