Investigation of the Memory Effect of Polyethylenes

When a PE sample is exposed to temperature in the melting range of the crystalline fractions for a certain time, the crystal structure is changed. This phenomenon is known as the memory effect ("thermal memory capacity") and can be measured using DSC. The memory effect is manifested as a deviation in comparison with a DSC curve of a sample without a thermal prehistory.

The aim of this article is to show that these deviations have a reproducible magnitude which depends on the temperature and the treatment time. As a result, it is possible to determine how long a sample has been subjected to a particular temperature.

^{Investigation of the Memory Effect of Polyethylenes | Thermal Analysis Application No. UC 67 | Application published in METTLER TOLEDO Thermal Analysis UserCom 6}