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

A STATISTICAL STUDY OF THE COMPATIBILITY AND CURING OF DEVULCANIZED RUBBER AND POLYPROPYLENE

Prashant Mutyala, May 2011

The usage of waste tire rubber crumb as a dispersed phase in a thermoplastic matrix has been a topic of study for a long time. Inspite of using compatibilizers the properties achieved using polypropylene (PP) and waste ground rubber tire (GRT) crumb composites remained inferior. Devulcanized rubber (DR) being more relatively similar to virgin rubber is supposed to perform better than GRT and hence should be a better material for commercializing. This paper presents a statistical analysis of compatibility between DR and PP and also studies the effectiveness of a sulphur cure system in compatibilization.

UNDERSTANDING THERMALLY INDUCED WRINKLING IN DECORATIVE FILM LAMINATED SHEETS

Michael Thompson, Kent Nielsen, Frank Brandys, Mahdy Mazhary, May 2011

The development of wrinkles in decorative film laminates during processing operations like thermoforming was the focused of this paper so that we may understand the driving factors and develop strategies to overcome. A threshold temperature was identified for our film under which no wrinkles formed, related to the stiffness of its different construction layers. Heating rate was also noted by this study to be an important parameter in wrinkling. The effect is believed to be related to the rate of change in stiffness between the different construction layers in relation to building thermal stresses.

FATIGUE PROPERTIES OF AN OLEFIN THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMER IN COMPARISON WITH OTHER THERMOPLASTIC ELASTOMERS

Shaofu Wu, Laura Weaver, Edwardo Leyva, Victor Juarez, May 2011

This paper discusses the dynamic fatigue properties of an olefin thermoplastic elastomer (TPE-O) and how it compares with flexible PVC (f-PVC) and styrene block copolymers based thermoplastic elastomers (TPE-S). The fatigue properties were investigated measuring the change of hysteresis properties as samples are subject to cyclic loads in air at room temperature. Material elastic features are investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis and compression set methods. The effect of aging on physical properties of materials is also investigated. The advantages of the TPE-O in fatigue resistance are discussed and attributed to its structure and morphology.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A EMBOSS-PATTERNED TPO SHEET CROSSLINKED BY ELECTRON BEAM IRRADIATION FOR AUTOMOBILE INTERIOR SKIN

Seong min Cho, Dong Woo Lee, In Soo Han, May 2011

The economical male vacuum forming process helps to make parts with emboss patterns price competitive, but emboss pattern loss is greater than that observed with a female vacuum forming process. In this study, we developed a emboss-patterned thermoplastic olefin(TPO) sheet crosslinked by electron beam irradiation, to minimize emboss pattern loss incurred during part forming in the male vacuum process by optimizing electron beam irradiation dose and materials compositon in the sheet and the results indicated the improvement of the retention rate of emboss patterns by three-fold with an electron beam irradiation dose of 80 kGy.

PREVENTING CRACKING FAILURES IN PC, ABS, AND PC/ABS BLENDS IN MEDICAL, PHARMACEUTICAL, AND CONSUMER DEVICE APPLICATIONS

Mark Bennett, Kenneth Waeber, Martin Gibler, May 2011

Polycarbonate and Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene are materials of choice for many medical, pharmaceutical, and consumer products because of their durability, stability, and high-quality surface finish. As these materials become widely used, failures are occurring more frequently and in situations where generally accepted design approaches and validation testing suggests the materials should perform quite well. This paper will discuss reasons why these failures occur as well as design methodology and life prediction techniques for preventing future failures.

MECHANICAL AND THERMAL PROPERTIES OF AN EPOXY RESIN REINFORCED WITH DIFFERENT NANOCLAYS

Guillermo Jimenez, Ximena Matamoros, Maria Sibaja, Lisbeth Jimenez, Hennia Cavallini, Maribelle Varqas, Jose Vega, May 2011

High intensive mixing techniques and/or long ultrasonication periods of time are normally used to prepare epopy clay nanocomposites. However this approach is not practical. In this work epoxy clay nanocomposites were prepared using a combination of short times of ultrasonication and hand mixing, therefore making clay chemistry to govern over possible differences in the composite properties. Several types of nanoclay were used in order to investigate clay chemistry on thermal and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites. Flexural test proved to be more sensitive than tensile testing in determining the effect of type and clay content.

PRECISE, HIGH-SPEED, HOT-PLATE WELDING; CONTROL TO THE THIRD POWER

Drew Jelgerhuis, May 2011

In general, conventional hot-plate welding has not kept pace with technology advancements that other widely used plastics joining technologies have experienced. Extol will describe recent advancements in the hot-plate welding process which provide the capability for high-speed welding with precise force, heat and speed control. Each of these key variables (force, heat, and speed) will be discussed with respect to advances in machine design that facilitated precision control resulting in improving the process. These improvements also contributed to more efficient tool design, process setup, cycle time improvements and process innovations allowing for flexibility in product design and material selection.

A STUDY ON THE MEASUREMENT OF RHEO-OPTICAL BEHAVIOR IN AMORPHOUS TRANSPARENT POLYMERS

Inki Min, Jongsun, Kyunghwan Yoon, May 2011

In the present study, rheo-optical and mechanical properties of amorphous polymers (PS, PC and COC) widely used in engineering field have been investigated. The storage stress-optical coefficient of polystyrene(PS) showed the sign change as the frequency increased. On the other hand, the sign of stress-optical coefficient over the whole frequency region is always positive with respect to polycarbonate(PC). For COC's of different composition, even though the glass transition temperature can vary, the stress-optical coefficient of COCƒ??s with different composition stays almost constant at two extremes.

THE EFFECT OF ELECTRON BEAM IRRADIATION ON HDPE/EPDM BLENDS WITH TRIALLYL CYANURATE

Phil Hyun Kang, JoonPyo Jeun, Bum Sik Shin, Byoung Ho Noh, Hyun Bin Kim, May 2011

Blends formed of 80 wt% of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and 20 wt% of ethylene-propylene diene monomer (EPDM) have been added with 3 wt% of triallyl cyanurate (TAC). The thermal and mechanical properties were followed up as a function of e-beam irradiation dose. The results obtained that the values of gel contents, decomposition temperature, tensile strength, and impact strength increase with increasing irradiation dose up to 100 or 150 kGy and then decreased. Additionally, the effect of cross-linking agent of TAC was observed in upgrading of various properties.

PRESTRESSED DOUBLE NETWORK HYDROGELS

Naveen Singh, Alan Lesser, May 2011

A new method to prepare and characterize hydrogels is presented. A polyacrylamide-co-bisacrylamide based crosslinked hydrogel is prepared using thermal curing, without use of a catalyst. This paper discusses the kinetic study of these systems and the effect of curing temperature on the mechanical properties. Finally the concept of prestressed double network hydrogels is introduced where the hydrogel is formed by crosslinking in two steps. The first step is in an unstrained state while the second is in a strained state. The formation of these prestressed double networks along with final mechanical behavior as compared to a single network is discussed.

INVESTIGATION OF TEAR PROPERTIES OF POLYETHYLENE BLOWN AND COMPRESSION MOLDED FILMS

Byoung-Ho Choi, Rajen Patel, Mehmet Demirors, Kenneth Anderson, May 2011

In this paper, eleven (11) blown (two sampling angles, i.e. MD and CD) and compression molded polyethylene films were prepared and tested by tensile tests and the Elmendorf tear tests. Tear values were analyzed statistically and the variation of the tear data was investigated based on the observation of the tear samples. The effect of tensile properties in a given direction on tear properties in the opposite direction was investigated. The relationship between tear properties obtained from the compression molded film and the blown film were compared and modeled using the geometric mean of tear values.

BIODEGRADATION OF THERMOPLASTIC STARCH AND ITS BLENDS WITH POLY(LACTIC ACID) AND POLYETHYLENE: INFLUENCE OF MORPHOLOGY

Basil Favis, Gang Li, May 2011

The room temperature mineralization of thermoplastic starch (TPS) with a high glycerol content and its blends with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polylactic acid (PLA) were examined under controlled degradation conditions. The biodegradation of native granular starch was also carried out as a reference. These results are correlated with the respective morphologies and continuity behavior of the various blend systems. CO2 evolution was measured to evaluate biodegradation properties during the test. As a whole, these results indicate a good relationship between morphology, phase continuity and biodegradation behaviour.

GASES STORAGE IN SUPPORTED CLATHRATES

Weixing Wang, May 2011

Gas clathrate hydrates are inclusion compounds formed of hydrogen-bonded H2O cages, encapsulating small molecules such as methane, hydrogen or carbon dioxide. In the search for viable gas storage media, clathrates may offer an alternative to micro-porous materials such as zeolites, active carbons and metal-organic frameworks. However, a barrier must first be overcome: Slow kinetics of enclathration (diffusion of gas into bulk systems can be of the order of days). Here we present a general strategy to greatly increase the rate of enclathration by means of trapping water in hydrophobic nanoparticle cage, gel, or porous polymer.

A NOVEL POLY (LACTIC ACID) BASED WATERBORNE POLYURETHANE

Naoko Shinozawa, Hirotoshi Kizumoto, Naoko Oda, May 2011

In the past few decades, Bio-plastics of plant origin and biodegradable plastics, and emulsions containing no organic solvent have drawn growing attentions as general environmentally friendly materials. Poly (lactic acid) based polyurethanes self-emulsified in 100% water were synthesized. The particle sizes of some of the emulsions were fine (less than 100nm) and they were stable for 6 months under 5oC storage condition. The low Tg sample showed good biodegradability. In this report, result of the polymerization and the emulsification, and the characteristic of the obtained emulsions were described.

AN EVALUTION OF MIXING QUALITY OF THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MIXING ELEMENTS

Pavel Kubik, Jiri Vlcek, Costas Tzoganakis, Luke Miller, May 2011

One of the most important, yet problematic, issues in the extrusion process is achieving good mixing. Considerable prior efforts have been made to understand different types of mixing elements for single-screw and twin-screw extrusion. However, there is still a lack of good process values or criteria that can be used for design purposes. The focus of this work is to better quantify the mixing behavior, using 3D FEM analysis and in-line melt camera, to develop some design criteria. This study will focus on the Maddock mixer and Stratablend II mixer, comparing design variations on mixing performance.

DESIGN OF INDUCTION HEATING MODULE FOR UNIFORM CAVITY SURFACE HEATING

Yu-Ting Sung, Yu-Ning Lin, Sheng-Jye Hwang, Huei-Huang Lee, Durn-Yuan Huang, May 2011

Previous studies using electromagnetic induction heating for rapid tool heating indicate that the temperature uniformity on cavity surface is not easy to be achieved no matter with surface or insert type induction heating. In this paper, a series of experiments were conducted to study the effectiveness of temperature uniformity on tool cavity surface for different induction heating coil. According to the results of heating experiments, the surface temperature of 10 mm thickness hot work die steel could rise from 50oC to 150oC in 15 seconds and the temperature uniformity of the heated zone reached 94%~95%.

EFFECTS OF ELECTRONIC CONDUCTIVITY ON PHASE INVERSION OF A WATERBORNE NOVOLAC EPOXY IMPREGNATED EMULSION FOR FILTER PAPER

Xiangxuan Huang, Yalin Lu, Zhi-qi Cai, Xiufang Wen, Pihui Pi, Jiang Cheng, Zhuoru Yang, May 2011

A novel cationic waterborne epoxy emulsion for oil filter paper was synthesized. Hydrophilic groups are introduced into a multifunctional bisphenol-A novolac epoxy resin (NEP) by chemical modification, while maintaining the epoxy groups as much as possible, which is neutralized to form the equably water dispersed epoxy resin. The structure of modified NEP in different rate of ring-opening is characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The emulsion phase inversion process of waterborne bisphenol-A novolac epoxy resin (WNEP) is detected by measuring the electrical conductivity in different ring-opening rates and different neutralization rates.

AN IMPROVED FOLGAR TUCKER MODEL FOR TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR OF ORIENTATION KINETICS IN FIBER SUSPENSION

Huan-Chang Tseng, Yuan-Jung Chang, Chia-Hsiang Hsu, Rong-Yeu Chang, May 2011

The famous Folgar-Tucker (FT) mathematic model has been habitually used to determine the evolution of the orientation state of fiber suspension. A critical problem with the practical processing flow of fibers is, however, that the predicted transient rate of orientation with respect to time is quicker than the experimental observed one. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose an improved FT model by using two time-dependent factors to effectively slow down the rate. Furthermore, this improved model is well applied to simulate the injection molding process of a rectangular plate.

SIMULATION AND VERIFICATION OF GAS-ASSISTED INJECTION MOLDING ON HOLLOWED CORE RATIO OF SPIRAL TUBE

Shia-Chung Chen, Ting-Yi Yu, Sung-Wei Huang, TzuChau Chen, CT Huang, Chih-Chung Hsu, May 2011

The hollowed core of the part is a very important property for understanding gas-assisted injection molding. In this study, the spiral tube mold was utilized to investigate thickness ratio of the hollowed core. The process parameter effects are explored on thickness ratio of the hollowed core. Both the experiments and simulations were compared for verification. The results indicate that the thickness ratio of the hollowed core increases with the increased melt temperature and gas pressure. However, the increase in delay time reduces the thickness ratio of the hollowed core. The experimental results are in good agreements with those in simulations.

CHARACTERIZATION OF CRACK INITIATION AND SLOW CRACK GROWTH IN POLYETHYLENE WITH CYCLIC CRACKED ROUND BAR TESTS

Andreas Frank, Anita Redhead, Mridula Kapur, Dane Chang, Detlef Schramm, Selim Bensason, Gerald Pinter, May 2011

With the purpose of an accelerated material ranking cyclic test with cracked round bar (CRB) specimens at ambient temperatures of 23C were carried out with eight high density polyethylene materials. Although testing times of only about one week per material were needed, a ranking of the results was in good correlation to Pennsylvania Notch Test (PENT) data. Additional measurements of the crack opening displacement provide further options for investigating the resistance of the materials against crack initiation.