Effect of a separator in a sheet die on the anisotropy of tear strength of extruded medium density polyethylene

Sheets of medium density polyethylene (MDPE) were extruded through a slit die containing an internal separator. Thus, the melt stream was momentarily split before emerging from the die. A line of separation was evident in the extruded sheets. It is attributed to incomplete welding or healing. Measurements of tear energy G_c revealed that the extruded sheets were anisotropic and that the weld line was extremely weak after extrusion start-up, only about 1/5 of the strength elsewhere. As extrusion continued, the strength of the weld line increased to reach that of the bulk material after about 10 min. This is attributed to an increasing temperature of the melt in the die region, aiding interdiffusion. A sample containing 30% by weight of short glass fibers showed less initial weld-line weakness but the weld line remained weak in this case, even after long extrusion times.