Initial stage of stress relaxation in oriented polymers

The initial stage of stress relaxation, i.e., a decrease of the stress with time in an extended solid at a fixed length of the specimen, has been studied in oriented fibers of a linear polymer, polypropylene, chosen as the object of investigation. Experimental data have been obtained, and the stress in the object from the beginning of tensile loading of the specimen has been analyzed. It has been found that the stress relaxation caused by thermal fluctuation conformational transitions in stretched chain polymer molecules occurs from the beginning of the stretching of the polymer fiber. The time dependence of the stress relaxation of polypropylene fibers in all initial stages of deformation of the fibers has been elucidated.