Plastic crystals, definitions

Planck constant, NMR 840 plastic crystals, definitions 23 platelet textures 440 plug flow 467... 

Turning to the low temperature transition of the homopolymer of PHBA at 350 °C, it is generally accepted that the phase below this temperature is orthorhombic and converts to an approximate pseudohexagonal phase with a packing closely related to the orthorhombic phase (see Fig. 6) [27-29]. The fact that a number of the diffraction maxima retain the sharp definition at room temperature pattern combined with the streaking of the 006 line suggests both vertical and horizontal displacements of the chains [29]. As mentioned earlier, Yoon et al. has opted to describe the new phase as a smectic E whereas we prefer to interpret this new phase as a one dimensional plastic crystal where rotational freedom is permitted around the chain axis. This particular question is really a matter of semantics since both interpretations are correct. Perhaps the more important issue is which of these terminologies provides a more descriptive picture as to the nature of the molecular motions of the polymer above the 350 °C transition. As will be seen shortly in the case of the aromatic copolyesters, similar motions can be identified well below the crystal-nematic transition. 

If a crystal is exposed to stress in such a way that the strain is kept constant, the stress will decrease with time as shown in Figure 14-4. One concludes that stress relaxation has occurred. Conversely, strain does not remain constant under constant load. Time dependent (i.e., plastic) strain in stressed crystals is called creep. It was already mentioned that elastic strain due to the applied stress is usually less than 1%. Plastic strain definitely dominates beyond the elastic limit which, to a large extent, is due to dislocation formation and motion. Since the crystal lattice is conserved during this... 

We shall conclude with some remarks on the structure of glassy polymers. If one frequently speaks of glass structures, this does not mean that there exists one definite glass structure similar to a crystal. In a macromolecular solid-e.g., the polystyrene-plasticizer system, entirely different glasses are obtainable, the macroscopic composition of which is always the same (8). In Figure 10 the full... 

Due to roughness effects, adherence of metals at moderate temperature and pressure is difficult to analyze. When roughnesses undergo plastic deformation, the true area of contact is proportional to the applied load P, and the adherence force F is often proportional to the load (hence the definition of an adhesion coefficient a = F/P), and independent of the apparent area of contact. These two "Laws of adhesion (41) are similar to Amonton s laws of friction. As shown by Gilbreath (42) the adhesion coefficient is very sensitive to adsorption. More precise experiments by Buckley (43,44) on single crystals in ultrahigh vacuum have shown that the adherence force does not increase linearly with the load, and that the position of the knees depends on the adsorption as if the effectively applied load depended on adsorption. 

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