Effect of tensile rates on thermal and mechanical properties of porous PTFE composites

Abstract

ABSTRACTTo achieve polymer‐matrix composites for sealing materials with thermostability and toughness, PTFE composites filled with short glass fibers (SGFs) were hyperthermal stretched to prepare a substrate material with high thermal stability and porosity. The effects of various tensile rates on the thermal and mechanical properties and morphologies were investigated. The results revealed that the thermal stability could be improved slightly and the thermal expansion coefficient of composites increased by the tensile rate. Through observing the morphologies, tensile process produced cavities and the increased tensile rate had negligible effects on porosity, which also could be proved by density test. From mechanical properties analysis, stretched composites exhibited that the tensile strength increases first and then decreases with the increased tensile rate. Although the variation tendency of Young's modulus is similar to that of tensile strength, which is smaller than that of unstretched composite. When the tensile rate reached 50 mm·min−1, the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the stretched composites increased by 65 and 9% to maximum, respectively. Meanwhile, elongation at break and shore hardness decreased. The thermal and mechanical properties improvement could be ascribed to the strain‐induced crystallization and crystal alignment. In addition, the interplanar spacing and grain size were inversely proportional to the tensile rate. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 48175.