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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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Conference Proceedings

COMPOSITION-OPTIMIZED SYNTHETIC GRAPHITE/POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES
Ehsan Bafekrpour, George P. Simon, Minoo Naebe, Jana Habsuda, Chunhui Yang, Bronwyn Fox, May 2012

In this study the optimization design, fabrication and characterization of synthetic graphite/phenolic nanocomposites are performed. The composition of synthetic graphite/phenolic nanocomposites was controlled across the thickness by stacking eight homogeneous layers containing 0, 5, 10, and 20wt% synthetic graphite in different sequences. Four compositional gradient patterns, as well as a homogenous nanocomposite, with the same geometry and synthetic graphite content, were fabricated to investigate the optimized design for thermomechanical properties. Results show that nanocomposites with a high concentration of synthetic graphite on the surfaces and neat resin at the center have the best thermomechanical and viscoelastic properties.

LASER WELDING OF INCOMPATIBLE SEMI-CRYSTALLINE THERMOPLASTICS BE MEANS OF INTERMEDIATE LAYERS
Christian Hopmann, Mathias Weber, May 2012

The weldability of dissimilar thermoplastics is restricted except for a few combinations using conventional welding processes for thermoplastics. Among these processes laser transmission welding is a relative new and innovative technology. The so called intermediate layer method is a new variant of the laser transmission welding which allows joining transparent plastic parts. This paper details with the enhancement of the intermediate layer method that leads to an improved weldability of dissimilar thermoplastics. Within the scope of a current research project the weldability of polypropylene and polyamide 6 using multi?layer films with a layer of an adhesion promoter can be demonstrated. Thereby, the film thickness is of particular significance.

SIMULATING THE PARISON GEOMETRY IN EXTRUSION BLOW MOLDING WITH VISCOELASTIC MATERIAL MODELS
Christian Hopmann, Walter Michaeli, Michael Aulbert, Christian Windeck, May 2012

In this study the molding step in extrusion blow molding is simulated using different viscoelastic material models. The material parameters are determined and material, throughput, temperature as well as the die geometry are varied during simulations. The quality of the parison geometry prediction is evaluated by comparing the computed results of the parison geometry with experimental data. In addition, an evaluation of the suitability of the different viscoelastic material models is performed.

EFFECTS OF MOLECULAR ORIENTATIONS AND RESIDUAL STRESSES ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CRACKING STRESS CRACKING RESISTANCE OF POLYCARBONATE
Christian Hopmann, Markus Brinkmann, Nikolai Borchmann, Andre Potthoff, May 2012

Environmental stress cracking is the most common failure reason of plastic parts. The influence of the processing conditions has been investigated in a previous research project at IKV. Yet, it was not clear if these effects can be correlated with the molecular orientations or the residual stresses. Therefore the effects of molecular orientations and residual stresses on the ESC?resistance are analyzed. The results of these investigations are discussed in?depth.

USE OF SURFACE ENGINEERING ON MODERN PRE-HARDENED TOOL STEEL
Per Hansson, May 2012

During the last decade have modern pre-hardened tool steels been developed and introduced into the market. This has been enabled thanks to improved metallurgical techniques pertaining to make even cleaner steel, and also a rapid development in hard-machining enabling faster tool-manufacturing. The pre-hardened tool steels are usually delivered in hardness up to Approx. 380 HBW. Steels having higher hardness when delivered from the steel producer are not so common, but prehardened tool steel having 45 HRC has now been available on the market since a couple of years. Steel having hardness around 45 HRC are suitable in many molding applications. However, when molding glassfiber- reinforced plastics high mold surface hardness is required, otherwise would the mold life length be too short. Surface engineering (Nitriding, PVD-coating etc.) offer the mold designer to tailor-make mold surface properties for a specific application.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VARIOTHERMAL PROCESS CONTROL FOR THE TWO-STAGE GITBLOW PROCESS BASED ON THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
Elmar Moritzer, Thorsten Plugge, Stefan Seidel, May 2012

The two-stage-GITBlow-process is a special injection molding process for the production of complex parts with local thin-walled hollow spaces. Wall thickness homogeneity is of major importance here to guarantee uniform strength of the hollow space geometry. In this paper, the process is simulated via the finite-element-method. The results on wall thickness homogeneity are verified with experimental findings. Finally, the application of variothermal process control is simulated and compared with previous thresholds of wall thickness homogeneity.

DEVELOPMENT OF A METHOD FOR THE LIFE-TIME DIMENSIONING OF SHORT FIBER REINFORCED PLASTICS
Walter Michaeli, Christian Hopmann, Hendrik Kremer, May 2012

Short glass fiber reinforced thermoplastics are increasingly used as design material for technical plastic parts. Especially the life?time dimensioning gains increasing importance recently. At the IKV Aachen a method was developed that allows a calculation of the life?time with the help of Finite? Element?Analysis based on part?independent material Wöhler?curves. The method enables the transfer of the fatigue behavior that is determined once on a test specimen to part behavior by use of a suitable failure criterion.

EXTRUSION-CALENDERING OF FOAMED AND UNFOAMED WOOD/PLASTIC COMPOSITES
Nathalie Benoit, Denis Rodrigue, May 2012

Foamed and unfoamed wood/plastic composites (WPC) were produced by extrusion-calendering. The effect of wood content on the foaming process was studied by using different amounts of wood particles (0, 10, 20 and 30%wt). The samples were characterized in terms of physical properties (DSC, morphology and density) and tensile behavior. The results show that extrusion-calendering leads to wood particle orientation in the composites and elongated bubbles in the foams, this orientation being stronger as wood content increases. The density was found to decrease by foaming, but increased with wood fibre content. According to SEM micrographs, the foamed composites presented a more homogeneous microstructure than unfoamed ones. From the tensile stress-strain curves, three parameters are reported and discussed: Young’s modulus, yield stress and strain at break. As expected, foaming decreased all the properties, while increasing fibre content led to higher Young’s modulus, but lower strain at break and yield stress.

DESCRIPTION BY DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE WALL THICKNESS DISTRIBUTION IN THE TWO-STAGE GITBLOW PROCESS
Elmar Moritzer, Thorsten Plugge, Johann-Sebastian Lessmann, May 2012

In the special injection molding process GITBlow, it is possible in a second stage to further inflate the hollow area produced by gas injection. This article sets out to identify the most important material, geometry and process parameters, and to relate them to the wall thickness homogeneity using dimensional analysis. With the aid of the model, users of the GITBlow technology are now able to estimate the expected wall thickness distribution for specific parameter settings.

MULTIVARIATE MODELLING, FAULT DETECTION, AND VALIDATION FOR THE EXTRUSION PROCESS
David Kazmer, Stephen Johnston, Louay Abou-Shady, Daniel Hazen, Chris Ambrozic, May 2012

A tubing extrusion process monitoring system was implemented. The system incorporated Principal Components Analysis and Projection to Latent Structures multivariate models. A design of experiments was performed to train models using different sets of input and outputs. Validation experiments were then performed to evaluate the models’ capability to detect 18 process faults. Results indicate that Shewhart control charts of process variance and model residual errors are well suited for detecting faults in the extrusion process.

SELECTING DISPERSING AGENTS FOR THERMOSET/CARBON NANOTUBE MASTERBATCHES
M.R. Loos, J. Yang, D.L. Feke, I. Manas-Zloczower, May 2012

This work presents an approach for preparing long-term stable suspensions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in different components of thermoset resins with the goal of developing a strategy for preparing master batches. Suspensions of CNTs in different components of epoxy, VE and PU systems have been prepared using a tip sonicator and different amounts of block copolymers. The resistance to sedimentation of MWCNTs in various media was systematically investigated by using a centrifugation technique.

THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE: A STRATEGY FOR IMPLEMENTING SUCCESSFUL PRODUCTS FOR THE MASTERBATCH INDUSTRY
Coreen C. Becker, May 2012

As the competitive landscape for the coloration of plastics rapidly contracts, expands and moves in new directions, new products are required to meet the demands of the marketplace. This paper will outline some strategic methods that can synergize to meet these demands. Some of these strategies have been used by different industries but this paper will use strategies from different types of businesses that will provide a novel perspective on the masterbatch industry and will have implications for other industries as well.

RELATION BETWEEN WATER PENETRATION BEHAVIOR AND PRODUCT QUALITY IN WATER-ASSISTED INJECTION MOLDING (WAIM) AT DIFFERENT PROCESS PARAMETERS
Sofie Sannen, P. Van Poyvelde, Jozefien De Keyzer, May 2012

Measurements of water pressure and water volume flow rate during water injection were related to both the part weight and a visual inspection of part cross-section at different process settings. It was found that the residual wall thickness (RWT) as well as the formation of part defects depend on the polymer resistance, since the variation of this latter leads to a change in both the water bubble width and velocity. Therefore, product quality depends on process parameters such as water volume flow rate and water injection delay time, which have an influence on this polymer resistance.

CHAIN EXTENSION OF LOW VISCOUS PA 66 IN REACTIVE EXTRUSION PROCESS IN ORDER TO EXTRUDE THICK-WALLED PIPES
Dan Zhang, Hans-Gerhard Fritz, Christian Bonten,, May 2012

The aim of this study is to increase the complex viscosity of low viscous polyamide 66 (PA 66) by means of a chain extension process. The technical goal of the process is to extrude thick-walled pipes from chain extended PA 66 without the appearance of sagging problems. The influence of styrene maleic anhydride (SMA) and epoxide (EP) on chain extension of PA 66 were studied using a co-rotating twin- screw extruder. To evaluate the coupling effects of the different extenders on PA 66, the rheological and mechanical properties of the chain extended PA 66 were investigated. The extruded pipes, obtained from chain extended PA 66, featured a considerably improved wall-thickness distribution.

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL WEATHERING OF POLYPROPYLENE / ETHYLENE VINYL ACETATE (PP/EVA) BLENDS
Rabeh Elleithy , Othman AlOthman, Shafaat Salahude, S. M. Al-Zahrani, May 2012

In this paper the effect of natural exposure and artificial weathering properties of PP/EVA blends was investigated. Different blends were compounded and pelletized using twin screw extruder. Then, ASTM standard samples were molded using injection molding machine. Naturally exposed samples were placed in the open air of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for up to 7 months (from August to February). Whereas, the artificially weathered samples were exposed to UV radiation from a Xenon arc lamp at 65 °C for different times. The effect of weathering on the blends was evaluated via: Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) analysis and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The chemical analysis via FTIR showed that the intensity of the vinyl Acetate concentration decreased with exposure time due to acetylation. The most pronounced effect of radiation is associated with oxidative degradation which was concluded from the increase of corresponding transmittance bands located above 3000 cm-1. The crosslinking of PP/EVA blends attributed to the formation of vinylidene group. The thermal analysis via DSC illustrated that the melting temperatures of PP and PP/EVA (5%) noticeably decreased with exposure time. However, the melting temperature of PP/ EVA (20%) blend decreased slowly.

EFFECT OF NANO - SIO2 ON THE CRYSTALLINITY AND CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOUR (NON-ISOTHERMAL AND ISOTHERMAL) OF POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE (PET) NANOCOMPOSITE.
Rabeh H. Elleithy, M. E. Ali Mohsin, Ilias Ali, S. M. Al-Zahrani, May 2012

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) with nano SiO2 were prepared using a Haake batch mixer. The thermal properties of PET and its nanocomposites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The crystallization process of the nanocomposites samples was found to be different than that of the neat PET. The presence of SiO2 shows a considerable effect on the crystallization behavior and crystallinity of the composites. The Half crystallization time of the nanocomposites was evaluated using Avrami's method. The morphology of the composites was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The dispersion and interfacial interaction between SIO2 and the polymer matrix were also investigated using SEM.

CONTROLLING ADHESION OF DIGITAL UV DECORATING TECHNIQUES
Rory Wolf, May 2012

Many experiments have been performed globally to investigate ways of controlling and improving adhesion of energy curable UV paints, inks and coatings utilized to decorate structural polymers. This paper discusses a new class of atmospheric surface activation systems, appropriate measurements of wettability and adhesion, over-treatment effects and surface analysis techniques relative to optimizing the adhesion of UV inks, paints, coatings and adhesives to structural polymer surfaces. Recommendations for improved activation by substrate and application are discussed.

NEW ADVANCES IN BONDING POLYOLEFIN-BASED PLASTICS
Alex Matassa, May 2012

Since the first industrial production of polyethylene in the 1930’s, polyolefin based plastics have become inescapable in our daily lives and indispensable to the production of modern industrial products. Although polyolefin based plastics such as polyethylene (PE) or (HDPE), polypropylene (PP) and low density polyethylene (LDPE) have proven useful in innumerable applications they have also proven difficult to bond to with adhesives. Advances in the field of bonding to polyolefin plastics have been made by the introduction of various surface pre-treatment methods and adhesives based on polyolefins themselves. However, polyolefin based adhesives generally suffer from a lack of cohesive strength and surface pre- treatment adds significant cost and process complexity. Today we have new developments in the field of polyolefin bonding without the need for these cumbersome pre-treatment procedures. A novel two part acrylic adhesive developed by Henkel has shown to provide many desirable attributes for polyolefin bonding such as easy mixing, fast fixture time and superior bonding to untreated olefins.

HOW TO CONFIRM LIGHT CURE ADHESIVES ARE FULLY CURED
Anne Forcum, May 2012

Light cure adhesives have become the assembly method of choice in high volume, automated manufacturing lines producing hand held electronics, medical devices, appliances, optical equipment, speakers, and screens/displays. Curing in seconds when exposed to light of the proper wave length and intensity, light cure adhesives offer infinite open times and allow manufacturers to reposition parts as necessary before cure begins. Available in formulations that respond to UV and/or visible light, these adhesives adhere to a wide range of plastics, as well as metals and glass. A primary concern for manufacturers using light cure adhesives is confirming that their light cure adhesive has fully cured. Incomplete cure can occur when cure lights degrade, have the incorrect wavelength or the incorrect intensity. In addition, the failure of the cure lights to illuminate the adhesive bond-line completely or for sufficient time can also result in incomplete cure, leading to device failure in the field. Until recently, no rapid, in-line method existed to provide a quantitative confirmation of the degree of cure. The Henkel Corporation recently developed a revolutionary new system designed to quantitatively confirm the complete cure of a light cure adhesive. Instantaneous, simple and In- line, the Loctite® AssureCure® System includes a unique adhesive, optical measurement equipment, and software that provides degree of cure measurements on 100% of your assembled devices.

STRUCTURAL BONDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PLASTICS
Rachel Nashett, May 2012

Plastics have become an integral part of everyday life. It would be difficult to identify a manufacturing process which does not use plastics in one from or another. Even products which appear to be composed exclusively of metals are usually coated, sealed, or adhesively joined using polymeric materials which improve the performance, appearance, and longevity of metal products. Plastics have achieved widespread acceptance due to the virtually limitless combinations of plastic types, fillers, and additives which can be compounded at relatively low costs and processed by a wide variety of methods. When designing assemblies made from or including plastics, it is often critical to structurally hold assemblies together with a reliable mechanism. Plastics can be reliably fastened to a wide variety of substrates using an engineered adhesive solution.










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