Environmental stress cracking resistance of blow moded poly(ethylene terephthalate) containers

Abstract

AbstractA method is developed for determining the environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of blow molded poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) containers. By this method, the internal chamber of a container is presurized in 68.9 kPa (10 psi) increments while the outside of the base is being exposed to an environmental stress cracking (ESC) agent. The base of the container is examined after each 68.9 kPa of pressurization if crazing has occurred. The process is continued until a threshold value of craze initiation pressure (CIP) can be determined. Low CIP for the type of containers tested generally corresponds to a high rate of field failures. The method does not only gage the susceptibility of different types of one‐piece PET containers to ESC but also provides helpful information to improve the container designs.