The influence of aging on the viscoelastic behavior of plastic films.

When growing plants, it is important to ensure good protection from weather conditions (hail, frost, wind...) and from animals (birds, insects, wild pigs...) to improve plant growth and increase production and quality. For this reason, plants are grown in covering systems (greenhouses) where covering materials play a major role. The covering material can be in the form of film and as such has an extremely low price, easy application, resistance to cracking and low weight. However, films also have certain disadvantages such as a shorter service life due to atmospheric influences, reduction of transparency and water vapor condensation. Regarding the tendency to use film for a longer time, this paper analyzes the effect of aging on the viscoelastic properties of polyethylene (PE) as well as ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). Viscoelastic properties were analyzed using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The film made of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) has better properties but is in a higher price range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]