Which outcome occurs when polyethylene pipes carrying natural gas are exposed to sustained tensile stress?

💡 Explanation

When polyethylene is under tensile stress, mechanochemical bond cleavage occurs because the stress concentrates at covalent bonds along the polymer backbone, initiating homolytic cleavage and forming free radicals, leading to chain scission. Therefore chain scission results, rather than increased crystallinity, softening, or swelling, which require different environmental or mechanical conditions.

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