Experimental study of the degradation of HDPE packaging under accelerated thermal aging

In this work, accelerated thermal aging at different temperatures was performed on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles and specimens for food packaging. The degradation of HDPE was followed macroscopically by tensile and compression tests to evaluate the decrease in mechanical properties. The data obtained from these tests are used to calculate a new static damage law and the life fraction of this polymer. A prediction of the lifetime of HDPE was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in dynamic mode. The evolution of the crystallinity rate during accelerated thermal aging was carried out using FOURIER transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The results obtained show a remarkable degradation of the mechanical properties in traction and compression by calculation of the static damage, and the physical and chemical properties by the analysis of the rate of crystallinity as well as the prediction by the law of Arrhenius.