thermochimica acta ELSEVIER Thermochimica Acta 284 (1996) 57-66 Relating dynamic mechanical data to flexible PVC low temperature performance1 Lecon Woo *, Stanley P. Westphal, Sherwin Shang, Michael T.K. Ling Baxter Healthcare, Round Lake. IL 60073-0490, USA Abstract Flexible PVC is widely used in the medical industry in a wide variety of applications. In numerous instances, the material needs to sustain stresses at subambient temperatures. Dynamic mechanical analysis was correlated with product performance. It was found that the location of the T~ was the most important factor. However, impact studies indicated brittle-to-ductile transitions well below the Tg, most likely originating from sub- Tgsecondary transitions. Further mapping of the product survival probability onto the impact spectrum allowed additional insights into the performance. Good agreement was also obtained with a method to predict the impact spectrum with DMA data. Keywords: DMA; PVC; Impact performance 1. Introduction Flexible PVC films and tubings of various types are often used in the medical industry. Plasticized PVC has frequently been the material of choice due to its wide formulation latitude, relative ease of processing, optical clarity for contamination inspections, and low cost. In numerous instances, these devices and delivery systems are subjected to the simultaneous conditions of subambient temperatures and mechanical stress. For example, near-freezing conditions can be expected during winter shipping. Blood components are frequently handled and centrifuge-processed at near 4°C. Certain drugs in premixed solutions are often stored and shipped frozen at about - 20 * Corresponding author. 1Presented at the 24th North American Thermal Analysis Society Conference, San Francisco, CA, U.S.A., 10-13 September 1995 0040-6031/96/$15.00 ~ 1996 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved Pll: S0040-6031 (96)02890-0