Petaloid design in bottom for carbonated PET bottles is wide spread Crack p
roblems exist in, the bottom of the bottles. Through this paper we investig
ated the causes of bottom crack. We examined the physical properties of mat
erial and tensile yield stress variations according to the stretch ratio of
PEI: Then we analyzed stretch ratio and strength in the bottom of blown bo
ttles. We also performed crack tests to observe crack phenomena. The distri
butions of effective stress and maximum principal stress were examined by c
omputer simulation to seek the influence of bottom design on crack. We conc
luded that the bottom crack occurs because of not only insufficient strengt
h of material due to the insufficient stretch of PET but also coarse design
of petaloid bottom. The stretch ratio at bottom in bottle blowing should b
e higher than strain hardening point of PET to have enhanced mechanical str
ength. The crack in the bottom of PET bottles occurred through crazing. The
maximum principal stress at valleys in the petaloid bottom of bottles was
higher than the other area in the bottom and this maximum principal stress
strongly affected the crack in the bottom of bottles.