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

INITIAL INVESTAGATION INTO THE USE OF SILICON DIOXIDE AS A FILLER IN ROTATIONAL MOULDING OF POLYETHYLENE

John Kissick, Gerry McNally, Alan Clarke, Paul Hanna, May 2011

Presented in this paper are the preliminary results from an experimental study on the use of rock, fines* which is mainly silicon dioxide as a filler in the rotationally moulded polyethylene products. The rock fines are a waste product from the Quarrying industry. Additive levels of up to 40% by weight were studied. Samples were made with and without a compatibilizer. It was found that acceptable parts were produced at these levels. The mechanical properties of the parts were tested and showed an increase in tensile modulus but a decrease in impact properties.

DISPERSION MORPHOLOGY OF ORGANOCLAY IN ACRYLONITRILE-BUTADIENE-STYRENE/POLYAMIDE 6 /ORGANOCLAY TERNARY NANOCOMPOSITES

Wei Yan, Shuhao Qin, Jianbing Guo, Minmin Zhang, Jie Yu, May 2011

In this article, polyamide 6(PA6)/Organoclay masterbatch were prepared by melt mixing, and then acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene(ABS)/polyamide 6(PA6)(70/30,w/w) nanocomposites were prepared by the melt mixing of PA6, ABS and organoclay. The effect of organoclay platelets on dispersion of ABS/PA6/organoclay ternary nanocomposites had been investigated by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Morphology analysis revealed that organoclay platelets were selectively dispersed and exfoliated in PA6 phase, but some were located in interface of PA6 and ABS phase.

DISPERSION MORPHOLOGY OF ORGANOCLAY IN ACRYLONITRILE-BUTADIENE-STYRENE/POLYAMIDE 6 /ORGANOCLAY Ternary Nanocomposites

Wei Yan, Shuhao Qin, Jianbing Guo, Minmin Zhang, Jie Yu, May 2011

RHEOLOGICAL MORPHOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP IN IMMISCIBLE AND REACTIVELY COMPATIBILIZED SAN/EPDM BLENDS

Mona Taheri, Jalil Morshedian, Hossein Ali Khonakdar, May 2011

In uncompatibilized SAN/EPDM blend a coarse morphology is formed. Viscosity of the components drops below that of individual components. In reactive blends formation of graft at the interface causes fine droplet morphology and viscosity increases. Favis equation shows at 17 wt% of graft, the size of EPDM is minimum. The relaxation spectra of the uncompatibilized blends show a combination of phases and an additional relaxation time. The interfacial tension shows minimum value at 1 phr initiator.The droplet morphology is changed to composite in two step blending. A higher apparent volume fraction of EPDM obtains by Kerner equation for composite morphology.

EXTERIOR UV CURABLE TOPCOAT FOR PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION APPLICATIONS

Jennfier Smith, May 2011

Because of the growing environmental concerns with chrome plating, finishers have been requesting greener alternatives. UV coatings for multi-purpose decoration have been used for several years. However, these coatings do not have the required durability to replace chrome plating. Red Spot has recently developed and launched a UV-curable topcoat for PVD that provides performance characteristics needed to pass the OEMs toughest requirements. This paper addresses the current chrome plating process, challenges associated with developing durable coatings for PVD, an explanation of material application, a list of advantages that the UV/PVD decorative process encompasses, and targeted end applications.

RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF BRANCHED POLYMER FENE MODELS

Zhiyu Min, Wei Cao, May 2011

FENE bead-spring chain model for branched polymer molecules in a Newtonian solvent is employed to describe the bead-bead interaction within a molecule. Brownian dynamics simulation is used to capture the steady state and transient rheological behavior of branched polymer. The simulations include examination of the effects of viscosity depending on length of the branching chain, spring parameter, and shear rate. The results of shear flow simulation show that the shear viscosity value increases with the increasing length of branch chain, and displays shear-thinning. Moreover, a large difference on the rheological response to different spring parameter is observed in this study.

A COMMERCIAL AND NEWLY PATENTED ADVANCED NON-TOXIC POLYMERIC ANTIMICROBIAL ADDITIVE FOR PLASTIC PRODUCTS INCLUDING MASTER-BATCHES AND THIN FILMS

Gerry Getman, May 2011

BIOSAFE Inc. has developed and commercialized a broad spectrum polymeric proprietary antimicrobial additive poly (trihydroxysilyl) propyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride (HM 4100). The uniqueness of this structure and functionality provides several methods to incorporate the antimicrobial into different materials. BIOSAFE has received EPA approval for HM 4100. The antimicrobial has proven to be very effective in commercial plastics such as LDPE, nylon and polyurethanes.The antimicrobial is available in master batch form such as polyurethane, nylon and polyolefins for ease of incorporation into various plastic materials. Typical antimicrobial performance observed is a 4 log reduction as determined by ASTM 2149.

BIODEGRADATION OF COMPOSTABLE PLASTIC SNACK BAGS WITH METALLIZED COATING PER ASTM D-5338 TEST METHOD

Joseph Greene, May 2011

Biodegradable and compostable plastic materials that are used as snack bags demonstrated biodegradation in a laboratory compost environment per ASTM D-5338 test method. PLA-based compostable plastic, Kraft paper and cellulose paper degraded at least 90% in 120 days and met the degradation time requirement in the ASTM D-5338 standard. LDPE bag did not meet the degradation requirement in the ASTM standards. PLA-based snack bag met the phytotoxicity requirement of ASTM D-6400 for healthy plant response in the compost soil. Lastly, PLA-based degraded samples and other compostable degraded samples did not leave residuals of lead or Chromium in the compost soil.

PREDICTION OF FIBER ORIENTATION AND WARPAGE OF SHORT FIRBER REINFORCED FILM INSERT MOLDED PARTS

Seong Yun, Jae Ryoun Youn, Sung Hee Lee, May 2011

Film insert molded (FIM) specimens and short glass fiber reinforced FIM specimens in order to evaluate reinforcing effect of short glass fibers on warpage of FIM composite (FIMC) specimens. Anisotropic properties induced by short glass fibers were considered for three-dimensional numerical analysis of the specimens to predict fiber orientation and warpage of the FIMC parts. The FIM specimen was bent such that the film side was protruded, but the warpage was reduced gradually with reinforcing glass fibers (GFs) and the FIMC specimens with GFs were bent such that the film side was concave. Experimental and numerical results were compared.

LASER TRANSMISSION WELDING OF CF-PA 6.6 USING ADAPTED PYROMETRIC PROCESS CONTROL

Peter Jaeschke, Cesar Chamorro Velasco, Fabian Fischer, Uwe Stute, Heinz Haferkamp, May 2011

A significant barrier for wide-spread use of continuous carbon fiber reinforced plastics based on thermoplastic matrix materials (TPC) is the lack of economic, quick and reliable component manufacture processes, especially joining steps. In this paper, the laser transmission welding technique is analyzed with respect to the weldability of TPC to unreinforced and glass fiber reinforced polyamide 6.6. A closed loop control based on pyrometric techniques is developed in order to adapt the laser power to the orientation of the rovings and the local concentration of the matrix material for homogenizing the weld seam within the inhomogeneous, anisotropic composite material.

ELECTROMAGNETIC PROCESSING OF COMMINGLED PLASTICS FOR RECYCLING APPLICATIONS

Fabian Rios, Michael Silverstein, May 2011

In order to evaluate an economical alternative for the recycling of commingled plastics, pellets of Polyethylene (PE) and Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), two incompatible widely used polymers, were compression-molded using radio-frequency (RF) heating and conventional conductive heating (CH). The main advantage of the RF system over the CH system is the shorter processing time. However, the fast heating in the RF process caused PVC degradation and reduction of the mechanical properties of the molded products. To solve this problem Chlorinated Polyethylene (CPE) was placed, as a process-specific additive, at the interface between the PVC and PE, using a solvent coating technique.

LESSONS FOR NEW MANAGERS: PREPARING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CORPORATE LEADERS

Norman Fowler, May 2011

A declining economic climate has resulted in reductions in force, layoffs and early retirements have left a management and leadership voids in many corporations. These personnel voids can create opportunities. Many good candidates have been pushed into leadership positions without the training, skills development and/or experiences that their predecessors have had in the past. This article is intended to summarize a series of lessons learned from my management experiences during my twentyƒ??seven year tenure at Xerox Corporation in hopes it may help them accelerate their learning and open new career opportunities to them.

LONG FIBER COMPOSITE REINFORCEMENT USING THERMOPLASTIC POLYMER DISPERSIONS

Gary Parsons, Richard Fox, Lisa Wujkowski, Gerry Billovits, Allan James, May 2011

Long glass fiber (LGF) reinforcement of polypropylene is used to improve mechanical properties in molded articles across a wide range of application areas. Fibers are typically incorporated into thermoplastic resin within a continuous pultrusion process, whereby a group of glass fibers are drawn through molten polymer using a die configured at the end of an extruder. An alternative technique for binding glass fibers in highly concentrated rovings based on simple immersion processes within aqueous elastomeric polymer dispersions is described. The resulting LGF concentrates, exceeding 90 weight percent, are suitable for injection molding using existing process equipment.

THERMOFORMABILITY OF RADIATION CROSS LINKED POLYAMIDE 12

Dietmar Drummer, Andreas Seefried, May 2011

Most semi crystalline thermoplastics have a smaller processing range for thermoforming compared to amorphous thermoplastics, due to their narrow temperature window for the transition from viscoelastic to viscous material behavior. Otherwise they offer superior properties for applications like ductility or chemical resistance. Within this article modification of semi crystalline polyamide 12 by radiation cross linking with respect to its suitability for vacuum thermoforming is shown. Experimental thermoforming processing studies, thermo-mechanical and elongational rheometry were performed in order to point out the potential of cross linked semi crystalline thermoplastics for thermoforming.

ITACONIC ACID AND AMINO ALCOHOL FUNCTIONALIZED POLYETHYLENE AS COMPATIBILIZERS FOR POLYETHYLENE NANOCOMPOSITES

Saul Sanchez, Juan Mendez, Eduardo, Luis Ramos, Juan Martinez, Cristina Ibarra, May 2011

The compatibilization effects provided by Itaconic Acid (IA) and 2-[2-(dimethylamine)-ethoxy]ethanol (DMAE) functionalized polyethylenes for forming PE-based nanocomposites were studied. Nanocomposites were prepared by melt processing using a twin screw extruder by blending PE and these compatibilizers, with two modified montmorillonite clays (30B and 20A). FTIR characterization confirmed the formation of these compatibilizers and the reaction between PPgIA and the amino alcohol. All the compatibilized nanocomposites had better clay exfoliation compared to the uncompatibilized PE nanocomposites. Results showed that the PEgDMAE with C20A formed better exfoliated-intercalated nanocomposites. Samples with C30B did not showed any dispersion improvement.

EFFECT OF MICRO-VISCOSITY AND WALL SLIP ON POLYMER MELT RHEOLOGY INSIDE MICRO-CHANNEL

Wei Cao, Yaqiang Shen, Chunqian Li, Qian Li, Changyu Shen, May 2011

The rheological model for polymer melt flow in micro-channels is vital for the accurate simulation of micro-injection molding. In this study, the governing equations for mlet flow in micro-channel were in terms of viscous, incompressible 1D flow. The simulated rheological difference between macro model and micro model becomes significant when the micro channel is smaller than 100?¬m, and increases with the diameter decrease. The simulated results indicate the combined micro-viscosity and wall slip model can improve the simulating precision.

STRUCTURAL BONDING ALTERNATIVES FOR PLASTICS

Rachel Nashett, May 2011

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. 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.

RESEARCH ON ELECTROMAGNETIC SHIELDING PERFORMANCE OF SISAL FIBER / CARBON BLACK /PP COMPOSITES

Hezhi He, Yuetong Liu, Biao Yang, May 2011

A novel conducting filler was introduced to prepare Sisal Fiber /Carbon Black/PP composites. NaOH and Silane were adopted to treat natural sisal fiber (SF) in order to help SF adsorb carbon black as SF/CB conducting filler, and then SF/CB/PP composites with varied compositions were prepared by extrusion mixing and hot compression mold technique. The effects of fiber length and SF/CB content on electrical conductivity and shielding effectiveness(SE) have been investigated in frequency range 100MHz-1GHz. The experimental results showed that at the same content of CB, the SE of SF/CB/PP composites were remarkably improved when compared with those of CB/PP composites.

POLY(ARYLENE ETHER)-POLYSILOXANE MULTIBLOCK COPOLYMERS

Rajesh Chowdhury, Gautam Chatterjee, Satish Mahanth, Rima Dey, Scott Fisher, Hua Guo, May 2011

This study focuses on the evaluation of novel, linear, poly(arylene ether)-polysiloxane (PPE-Siloxane) multiblock copolymers prepared by the reaction of a hydroxyl terminated oligomeric bifunctional poly(arylene ether), a hydroxyl terminated telechelic bifunctional polysiloxane, and an aromatic diacid chloride. The resulting copolymer chains had multi (greater than or equal to 2) siloxane blocks and multi arylene-ether blocks. The overall siloxane incorporations were varied and at high levels (>60 wt %) yielding flexible compositions with improved flow, ductility, flame retardancy and low smoke generation during burn.

EVALUATION OF FOAMING OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLYMERS BY CO2 and N2 TO ENABLE DRUG PRODUCTS

Chad Brown, Niloufar Faridi, Craig McKelvey, John Suwardie, Linjie Zhu, Ming-Wan Young, Peng Wang, Costas Gogos, May 2011

Gas mediated foaming of extrudate is of interest to the pharmaceutical industry as a method to improve milling performance, to increase surface area for dissolution of molded parts, and to increase the processing window of thermally labile active ingredients via gas-assist extrusion. Pharmaceutical polymers were characterized via rheology and gas solubility measurements for their ability to support a foamed architecture. Finally, batch foaming studies were conducted and the materials characterized for density and cell size.