Balloon material characterization

Experimental data are reviewed to study the state of stress and strain in a typical balloon fabricated from thin polyethylene film. Relaxation tests are conducted over a temperature range of -60 C to 140 C for a constant strain of 1%, and loads measured with the load cell are converted to values of the relaxation modulus. A log-log plot is made of the modulus as a function of time, and the maximum stress is found to occur at times of the order of one-half second. The film behaves as a nonlinear viscoelastic material, and by examining various theoretical relationships of stress and strain with temperature and time histories, a material testing program is developed which yields the necessary data to characterize the film.