Investigation on thermoformability of PLA by rheological and hot tensile tests

In this work the correlation between the thermoformability of different grades of polylactide acid (PLA 4032D, PLA 4042D and PLA 2003D) and their mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties was explored. In particular, hot tensile tests, at different stretching temperatures and crosshead speeds, were performed in order to identify an optimum windows of temperature and strain rate for improved thermoforming performance. The properties measured from the creep experiments were correlated with the propensity of PLA sheet to sag, while the unrecovered strains by the creep recovery tests were associated to mold replication attitude of the materials investigated.