Consumer Products

Blow Molded PVC Bottle Failure

By Dr. Duane Priddy Sr. · Published May 17, 2016

Finite element analysis contour plot of a blow molded bottle, with callouts marking wall thicknesses of 0.037, 0.016 and 0.044 inches

Before using a bottle to contain a chemical solution, chemical compatibility testing should be performed to ensure that the chemicals are compatible with the bottle material. As an example, we recently were asked to determine why a blow-molded PVC bottle ruptured allowing gelled ethanol to spray onto a child. Ethanol is only marginally compatible with PVC. Residual stresses in the material from the blow molding process in combination with a large wall thickness variation in the bottle wall led to the bottle failure. Finite element analysis predicted the location of the failure.