Application area: General industry


General facts

Polyethylene

Shortening: PE

Color: White, colorless

Common uses: Household items, bottles, pipes, buckets, fuel tanks, cable insulation, etc.

Benefits

  • Very good impact resistance over a wide temperature range.
  • Good electrical properties.
  • Low water absorption.
  • Resistant to most chemicals.
  • Can be used in contact with food.
  • Available in several variants with varying melt index and molecular weight from very weak to semi-rigid materials.
  • Stiffened with filler or fiberglass.
  • Expands to foam.
  • Occurs as a construction plastic with simultaneous cellular and fiberglass structure.
  • Low Price.

Restrictions

  • Very high coefficient of longitudinal expansion.
  • Low resistance to creep under load.
  • Poor fatigue strength than polypropylene.
  • Burns fiercely.
  • Attacked by oxidizing acids.
  • High shape shrinkage.
  • Hard and glue.
  • Sensitive to stress corrosion.
  • Poor weather resistance (if not black).
  • Difficult to provide text without prior surface treatment.
  • Low scratch resistance.
  • Mechanical properties, strongly temperature dependent.