The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
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Polyolefin pipe is known to be susceptible to oxidative degradation when used in potable water applications. Antioxidants in the polymer are washed away and/or consumed during use, leaving the pipe material susceptible to oxidative degradation. This study presents the results of testing of the resistance of random copolymer polypropylene pipe to chlorinated water and the failure mechanisms observed in the tests.
A new class of polyetherimide (PEI) and polycarbonate (PC) blends has been developed. The approach was to create immiscible PEI-PC blends that were designed to have good compatibility thus providing high flow, enhanced impact strength and good weathering performance. Further, owing to the unique immiscible yet compatible blend technology, we present new PEI-PC blends that can be colored to bright white colors.
Anne Lederer, Graeme Fukuda, Bunty Bhatia, Harry Brown, David I. Bigio, May 2013
Microscale and nanoscale fillers are used to create multi-scale polymer composites with enhanced physical properties. An investigation of processing effects on microstructural evolution of the extruded composites, and the associated thermal and mechanical properties as performed. This data can then be used to develop fundamental processing-structure-property models of these multi-scale composites across different concentrations of microscale and nanoscale ingredients.
Liquid Crystal Polymers (LCPs) melt processing remains a challenge. Blown and cast films were processed byextrusion with a counter rotating mandrel die. The die rotation varied from 0 to 30 rpm with the oxygen and water barrier properties being influenced by rotation. Oxygen barrier values as low as 0.057 cc/m2- day was obtained and meets the military specification for oxygen barrier. Thermal, rheological, and mechanical testing were also performed to fully characterize the films.
Brian Cromer, Edward B. Coughlin, Alan J. Lesser, May 2013
Isotactic Polyproyplene-Exfoliated Graphene Nanoplatelet (iPP-xGnP?) nanocomposites were prepared through an in-situ polymerization technique. Single site metallocene catalysts polymerized propylene within a dispersion of xGnP nanoparticles. The nanocomposites showed increased crystallization and melting temperatures, along with increased elastic moduli. The 1.3 wt% composite showed an increase in ductility over the neat polymer.
Solid bed breakup in plasticating single-screw extruders can lead to defects in the downstream product, reduced rates, and process instabilities. The literature generally attributes this breakup to pressure gradients emanating from the beginning of the metering section of the screw although little evidence is available. In this paper a new mechanism is proposed that was developed as a result of the physics of the melting mechanism and fluid flows associated with screw rotation physics.
In this work, planar and uniaxial extensional viscosities for linear and branched polyolefins has been determined through entrance pressure drop technique on conventional twin bore capillary rheometr by using novel circular and rectangle orifice dies and the capability of two different constitutive equations to describe the measured experimental data has been tested.
Mesh partitioning technique is used for three-dimensional simulation of the flow for 36 different screw orientations in a ZSK 90 co-rotating twin-screw extruder from Coperion. The predicted velocity distribution is used to trace the pathlines for 2034 particles flowing through the extruder. The pathlines are used to determine the spatial distribution of initially segregated particles, which is then used to estimate the Shanon entropy as a measure of the quality of mixing in the extruder.
Maggie Baumann, Bonnie Bachman, Shristy Bashyal, May 2013
Sustainability principles are becoming associated with best practices. This paper will cover results of a 2011 survey and implications for Sustainability in the plastics industry. We will also present a few examples from the Plastics Industry that illustrate the principles of sustainability in practice.
With the purpose to develop innovative solutions for the tablet tooling sector in pharmacy industry, in order to improve the behavior of punches and dies in service and improve the extraction, decrease wear and decrease the risk of contamination, this experimental work presents the development of thin films by PVD, studied in the ambit of a large project of Engineering & Tooling sector, namely Tooling EDGE.
Matthew Orlando, Haruhiko Kurokawa, Hiromitsu Nagashima, Satoshi Nagai, May 2013
In general, a blend of PC and conventional PMMA is immiscible and its appearance is opaque such as pearl-like gloss. This new material using new PMMA modified chemical structure improved miscibility between PC and PMMA, and this material could be enhanced surface scratch resistance keeping with high transparency. Other features of this new material are 1) superior impact strength and heat stability than PMMA and 2) better flowability than PC high flow grade.
Thiol-ene chemistry is a emerging and environmentally friendly polymer synthesis. It is therefor obvious that new applications would be sought for the process. Currently, the use of Thiol-ene chemistry is being investigated for use as a replacement chemistry for nail polish. However, a nail polish formulation requires a consistent and aesthetically pleasing application of colorant. Our project looks at the application of colorants to Thiol-ene coatings.
A composite material consisting of 5 percent weight of nanoclay and polyethylene was prepared by twin screw compounding. The resulting material in pellet form was ground and rotationally molded. A RotoLog was used to determine melt completion in the mold and the resulting test box was tested for low temperature impact and tensile properties versus those of the control material.
High intensity mixing is a preferred way to disperse colorants or additives into resins. Two different blade designs are being evaluated, one being a polyvinyl chloride dry blend and the other a polyethylene dry blend blade, for aggression of particle size in polyethylene powder. The resulting mixtures are evaluated for temperature, particle size distribution, bulk density, and powder flow properties.
Several properties of a rotational molded composite material comprised of polyethylene and a bio-derived fiber reinforcement are investigated and compared with those of the non-reinforced control. This poster presents the effects of the bio-derived reinforcement on tensile and low temperature impact performance.
This experiment determined the most effective technique in crosslinking HDPE to replace PP medical containers. HDPE was crosslinked using silane methods at levels of 2%, 5%, and 10% and irradiation at levels of 21.6kGy, 42.12kGy, and 105.3kGy. After crosslinking, these materials, along with a medical grade PP and a general grade of PE were tested using melt index, stress relaxation, tensile, impact, flexural, HDT, and autoclave sterilization. The e-beam at 21.6kGy yielded the results closest to the PP.
This study will focus on the effect conformal cooling channels have on cooling time, mold temperature, part temperature and warpage. An infrared camera was used to determine the mold and part temperatures. The processing variables were material and cooling times. Two amorphous materials (HIPS and PC), and two semi-crystalline materials (PP and PA) were used. The conformal cooling layout provided more even cooling and less part warpage. Moldflow was used to verify molding trial results.
A simulation verification study was performed to understand how part ejection can cause deformation during injection molding. Excessive issues that occurred from ejection forces such as surface indentations or part distortion were assessed after altering different processing parameters. OFAT testing was used with a crystalline and an amorphous material in separate part geometries to analyze the most influential factors. Cooling time was the most influential process variable.
This research explores the possibility of using printed FDM tooling in the thermoforming process to produce prototype parts. Three thermoforming tools with various geometries were designed then printed using a 3D printer. Sheets of Polystyrene were used for testing the molding ability of the tools. The FDM tooling performed well in producing prototype thermoformed parts.
If you are coloring plastics for packaging, fiber, or automotive blue is going to one of, if not your highest volume color. When it comes to creating blue colors using organic pigments, today’s formulators have a limited, but high functioning selection to choose from—specifically phthalocyanine (pcn) and indanthrone blue. Pigment Manufacturers have developed a new range of indanthrone pigments for polymers and coatings. This article will review the new Alpha Crystal of Pigment Blue 60 as compared to the “next best alternatives.” You will have all the information you need to select the right blue for your high volume color – blue.
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Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.