On the recovery and recrystallization of two thermoplastics

The well-known Taylor test, that follows the impact of a flat-ended cylindrical rod onto a rigid stationary anvil, is conducted over a range of impact speeds for two polymers, PTFE and PEEK. In previous work experiments and a model were developed to capture the deformation behavior of the rod after impact. A distinctive feature of these works was that a region in which there was both spatial and temporal variation of both longitudinal and radial deformation showed evidence of order in an otherwise amorphous matrix within the material. This region is imaged in a range of impacted targets at the I13 Imaging and Coherence beamline at the Diamond synchrotron. Resolution beyond the limitations given by the detector and X-ray optics were achieved using methods working in reciprocal space. Further techniques were fielded to resolve crystalline regions within the recovered polymer cylinders.