Characterization of polyethylene networks based on the jointed description of melting, swelling and deformation

Investigations of melting, equilibrium swelling and the stress-strain behavior of radiation crosslinked polyethylene are reported. The results are jointly described where by a novel phenomenological treatment of the swelling of van der Waals networks was needed implicating a discussion as to how the modulus is related to the concentration of the cross-linkages. This concentration is obtained from the analysis of the melting process by application of the thermodynamics of eutectoid copolymers, which is also shown to deliver structural parameters which are in good accord with X-ray data.