Effect of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate on the Rheological and Mechanical Behavior of Low-Density Polyethylene-Based Greenhouse Film

Abstract

In this work, the effect of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) on the rheological and mechanical properties of low-density polyethylene (LDPE)-based greenhouse plastic films was explored. The rheological experiments showed that, for given PE and EVA, both complex viscosity and storage moduli of LDPE/EVA blends were not significantly affected when EVA content is less than 30%wt but increased with increasing EVA content thereafter. However, the mechanical results inconsistently showed that blown films with 10%wt EVA content gave the most superior mechanical properties compared to other blends. It was found that, at higher EVA contents, immiscibility between the LDPE and EVA phases occurred, resulting in much poorer mechanical performance.