Crystallization of networks under stress

Abstract

Abstract A theory of crystallization under stress is developed about the premise that the direction a chain takes through a crystallite, relative to its end‐to‐end vector, is determined by the first few links of a chain that initially deposit onto the crystallite surface. Since these few links are quickly trapped by subsequently crystallizing chains, their orientational probability prior to deposition governs the chain direction through the crystallite, and the properties of the system depend upon a statistical distribution of all vector orientations. Such a model leads to a relationship between the melting temperature and the degree of network orientation, and relates the retractive force to temperature in the crystallization region. The theory appears to adequately describe some of the published data on rubber and polychloroprene networks.