SPE Library

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

EPOXY SYNTACTIC FOAMS FOR USE AS PLUG ASSISTS IN HEAVY GAUGE THERMOFORMING

Kathleen Boivin, May 2011

Traditionally, heavy gauge thermoformers have used plugs/pushers made of wood and felt covered wood to improve material distribution and quality of parts. However, newer materials, especially multilayer structures, can be difficult to form with traditional plug/pusher materials. The performance of epoxy syntactic foams as plug assist materials for heavy gauge thermoforming was evaluated and compared to that of wood.

ONLINE ULTRASONIC FILM CASTING OF LLDPE AND LLDPE/CLAY NANOCOMPOSITES

Setareh Niknezhad, Avraam Isayev, May 2011

One step process for ultrasonic compounding and film casting consisting of an ultrasonic extruder followed by a cast film machine was developed. Cast films of LLDPE and 90/10 LLDPE/Clay 20A nanocomposites were prepared at different draw down ratios and amplitudes using. The die pressure and ultrasonic power consumption were measured. X-ray patterns, thermal, and gas permeability properties of cast films were measured. The mechanical properties of the prepared films in the machine and transverse directions were studied.

RECENT PROCEDURES INTRODUCED TO CHALLENGE PATENT GRANTS AT THE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE

Beth Filip, Steven Grossman, May 2011

Over the past 30 years, Congress has become increasingly aware of the desire by third parties to participate in post grant review of patents. One of the more recent avenues introduced to address the desire of the public to participate in the patent review process was the institution of inter partes reexamination in 1999. While not initially utilized, inter partes reexamination has emerged as an alternative means for third parties to obtain post grant review of an issued patent.

ADVACEMENTS IN MARKING LASERS

Jake Wieloch, May 2011

Since the turn of the century there have been a number of large advances made in laser technology. To really appreciate the advances, you have to look at the history of lasers. The first laser was produced in 1960. This laser was a ruby laser, which is very similar to the modern day lamp pumped Neodymium YAG (Nd:Yag) laser. It used a ruby crystal optically pumped by flashes of high intensity white light to produce a laser beam. This concept is still used today, 50 years later, in lamp pumped lasers.

ELECTRONICALLY TIMED GEAR PUMPS

Daniel Smith, May 2011

The advent of gear pumps in the extrusion process has added control and stability not available before Extrusion Gear Pumps were introduced. While effective in a wide range of processes, there are some areas that have been problematic because of abrasive and/or corrosive fillers, or because of the corrosive nature of the polymer itself. Recently a new type of control system has been applied that allows electronic adjustment of gear tooth position and modulation of the motor drive frequency to eliminate pulsations.

FLEXIBLE COMPOSITES WITH KNITTED REINFORCEMENTS

Burak Bekisli, Herman Nied, May 2011

Flexible composites formed by reinforcing elastomeric polymers with knitted fabrics are investigated both experimentally and numerically. Performed tests confirm that energy absorption and stretch/forming capabilities of these unique materials are superior, compared to traditional composites. A multi-level, hierarchical finite element methodology to predict the large deformation behavior of these materials is developed. The method provides a powerful design tool which can help optimizing the deformation characteristics of the material by carefully tailoring the knit patterns.

STUDY ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CROSSLINKED EVA FOAMS

Ali Rizvi, Nan Chan, Chul B. Park, May 2011

In this paper, the mechanical properties of crosslinked Ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) foams are discussed. An extensive range of mechanical tests with varied conditions were carried out. SEM results revealed the effect of different processing conditions on the foam morphology. The effect of cell density and the foam expansion ratio were then correlated with the mechanical properties of the foam.

CONSEQUENCES OF A HALOGEN-FREE COLOR PALETTE

Roger Reinicker, Tad Finnegan, May 2011

Halogens are key components of many of the organic color compounds used in plastics, providing numerous needed benefits, especially heat stability during processing. Yet, despite the ubiquitous presence of halogens in nature, there have been requests for creating a palette of colors that are halogen-free. This paper will examine color space, looking at the halogen containing colorants and possible suitable alternates. It will attempt to characterize the problems and tradeoffs involved in creating, from existing chemistries, a new core group of halogen-free organic colors.

INFLUENCE OF CROSSLINKING ON THE FOAMING BEHAVIOR OF ETHYLENE-VINYL ACETATE (EVA) USING CARBON DIOXIDE AS THE PHYSICAL BLOWING AGENT

Nan Chen, Ali Rizvi, May 2011

This paper investigates the foaming behavior of Ethyl-vinyl acetate (EVA). A foaming chamber was designed to prepare foam samples using carbon dioxide as the physical blowing agent. The amount of crosslinking agent used in preparing the crosslinked EVA was correlated with the foam morphology. It was found that an optimum degree of crosslinking lead to high quality EVA foams with high expansion ratios. Extensional viscosity data were measured to describe the observed phenomena.

NEXT GENERATION LOW EMISSION COLORED POLYACETAL COPOLYMER (POM)

Bruce Mulholland, May 2011

Automotive OEMs have increasingly become more interested in monitoring cabin air quality inside the vehicle. This leads to the need for further understanding and testing of emissions from the various materials including plastic parts. Other industries such as cosmetics packaging or medical are also interested in emissions from materials. This paper looks at emissions testing in general, for POM specifically, effects of colorants and other additives on emissions, and formulations that significantly reduce these emissions from the molded part.

DIELECTRIC BEHAVIOR AND THERMOMECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF BaTiO3-EPOXY COMPOSITES

Anastasios Patsidis, George Psarras, Kyriaki Kalaitzidou, May 2011

Dielectric, mechanical and thermal properties of BaTiO3 reinforced epoxy composites as a function of the filler size and concentration are studied. The effect of the filler dispersion method is also examined. In addition the properties of the BaTiO3/epoxy composites are compared to the properties of carbon reinforced epoxy nanocomposites. The carbon fillers used are carbon black, vapor grown carbon fibers and exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets. Finally, the synergy among the various fillers is also investigated.

WEATHERABILITY AND PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OPAQUE LEXAN* SLX1432 RESIN FOR INJECION MOLDING AND CAPLAYER APPLICATIONS

Paul Sybert, May 2011

Lexan* SLX1432 resin, based on resorcinol phthalates, has excellent weatherability and polycarbonate-like physical properties. The unique weatherability of these resins comes as a result of a photogenerated UV absorber (UVA) on the surface of a part. These resins have excellent colorability, gloss and property retention making them useful in a wide variety of outdoor injection molding and cap-layer applications.

SYSTEMIZED APPROACH TO CAP TOOLING

Alan Hickok, May 2011

Optimized cap design matched with standard tooling will be described along with the benefits of off-the-shelf coring components. Instead of the component being a slave to the part design, it's an improved plastic part design that carries with it benefits over previous part designs and the corresponding core and component.

SECOND GENERATION BIO-FOAMS FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

Romeo Stanciu, Hamdy Khalil, Jack Dai, Ricardo DeGenova, Tim Abraham, May 2011

The use of seed oils derived polyols in high end polyurethane applications has been limited in the past by the reduced compatibility and reactivity. Flexible foams with up to 25 % substitution of the petroleum-based polyols with renewable component were produced and characterized, based on a new generation of plant oil based polyol. The technology brings significant enhancement in foam elastic properties and improved processing characteristics, allowing for a potentially higher penetration in automotive seating applications.

BIMODAL POLYSTYRENE/PARTICLE FOAM BY EXTRUSION FOAMING

Cailiang Zhang, Bin Zhu, L. James Lee, May 2011

Extrusion foaming using supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) as the blowing agent is an economically and environmentally benign process. However, it is difficult to control the foam density and maintain the thermal insulation performance. In this study, the extrusion foaming process of bimodal polystyrene foams was investigated by using CO2 as the blowing agent and water as the co-blowing agent. Compared to the extruded foam without water as co-blowing agent, the bimodal foams exhibit better thermal insulation property and compressive performance.

SELF-NUCLEATED CRYSTALLIZATION OF A BRANCHED POLYPROPYLENE

Dhwaihi Alotaibi, Ankit Patel, Horst Winter, May 2011

Long chain branched polypropylene (LCBPP) crystallizes rapidly and with high nucleation density. The origin of this fast crystallization process of is not well understood. It has been attributed to its complicated molecular architecture. In this research, we explore isothermal crystallization of LCBPP through rheological, thermal, and optical measurements. The time resolved mechanical spectroscopy technique was used to predict the liquid-to-solid transition (gel point) of LCBPP.

SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL EPOXY RESIN BASED COATINGS

Jaspreet Singh, Jude Iroh, May 2011

The influence of polymeric modifiers such as polyurea and polymethylhydrosiloxane on the properties of epoxy ester coatings was investigated. The corrosion resistance of the hybrid coatings was measured by direct current polarization method, DCP.The dynamic mechanical property of the coatings was determined by using dynamic mechanical spectroscopy. The electrochemical and thermo-mechanical performance of hybrid coatings was compared with those for the neat epoxy ester coating.

PREDICTION OF DEGRADATION OF POLYMER TUBES USED IN SOLAR DOMESTIC HOT WATER COMPONENTS

Gyanender Singh, SusanMantell, Jane Davidson, May 2011

For polyolefin tubes exposed to chlorinated hot water, lifetime is estimated by a model of the depletion of antioxidant through diffusion and reaction with chlorine ions. A case study for typical tube geometries used in solar hot water applications at 50C is presented. Characteristic time scales demonstrate that the dominant mechanism for antioxidant depletion is the reaction with chlorine ions that diffuse into the polymer tube.

ACOUSTIC STRESS MEASUREMENT IN BIAXIALLY CONSTRAINED MEMBRANES

Andrew Detwiler, Alan Lesser, May 2011

The growth of center cracks in biaxially confined membranes is monitored as a function of solvent evaporation. In a complimentary study, acoustic and membrane inflation techniques, applied to uncracked membranes, are used to calculate the stresses that cause crack propagation. By comparing the stresses induced in uncracked membranes with crack growth in cracked membranes we are able to calculate values of the stress intensity factor in biaxially constrained membranes with application to industrial coatings.

EVALUATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF USED MATERIALS FOR PLASTIC RECYCLE

Hiroyuki Nishimura, May 2011

This paper describes the evaluation of mechanical test results of compounded used polyethylene (PE) pipes and plastic materials for recycle. A compounding technology of used PE pipes for gas distribution and waste polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles using a compatibilizer was firstly studied. Then the other combinations of used plastic materials and new resins were also investigated for material uses and high-performance polymer alloys.