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.

The SPE Library is just one of the great benefits of being an SPE member! Are you taking advantage of all of your SPE Benefits?

Not an SPE member? Join today!

Use % to separate multiple keywords. 


Search SPE Library
    
    




Sort By:  Date Added   Publication Date   Title   Author

Conference Proceedings

The Use of Novel Biomaterials For Affordable Packaging
Karnik Tarverdi, May 2020

The effects of the use of biomaterials for the development of novel packaging composites have been evaluated. An increase in the amount of treated fillers improved the dispersion of the particles and consequently led to an enhancement of the mechanical properties of the materials. The composites were melt-blended using co-rotating intermeshing twin screw extrusion technology and although there can be degradation of the organic additives during extrusion processing, it did not affect the dispersion of the novel biocomposites and the biofillers.A range of techniques used to characterise these materials will be discussed, including morphology, differential scanning calorimetry, (DSC), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), including experimental techniques likemechanical property evaluations.

Thermal Derating Factors for Fused PVC
Tom Marti, May 2020

The use of PVC pipe has been expanded in the most recent edition of AWWA C900-16. Once solely for drinking water, the AWWA C900 standard now includes reclaimed water, irrigation water, wastewater, or any other fluid compatible with nonplasticized PVC. When limited to drinking water, there is relatively little use for PVC to operate at elevated temperatures. The scope increase including industrial, raw water, geothermal, and other opportunities now make the use of PVC pipe viable so long as the pipe can meet temperature and pressure requirements. The hypothesis tested is that the present set of thermal derating factors may contain room for adjustment with the present PVC pressure pipe extrusion formulations and technology. This presentation details out the test methods used to screen and then develop derating guidance for fused PVC pipe. Screening methodology and results to validate the hypothesis are discussed. With positive results from the screening, the long term testing done to develop an alternative set of derating factors is also included.

Thermoplastic Elastomer Blend Exhibiting Combined Shape Memory and Self-Healing Functionality
Christopher Lewis, May 2020

Here we report on a polymer blend consisting of a soft-thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer and a low melting temperature thermoplastic healing agent (Polycaprolactone, PCL) capable of repairing highly deformed cracks without the need for an external load. In this study, a blend containing 30wt% PCL (30PCL) was shown to exhibit two well-separated melting transitions thus enabling shape memory behavior. Moreover, upon heating to above PCL’s melting temperature the flow of PCL into an undeformed crack was shown to fill the crack void thus promoting self-repair. A combined healing mechanism relying on both shape memory and self-healing action was demonstrated. Through the simple action of mild heating (90C/30 minutes), fracture surfaces are brought into intimate contact through the action of shape memory recovery and subsequently healed. Healing efficiency was evaluated by comparing the tensile force restoration after healing of a highly deformed, notched sample to its behavior prior to notching. Here it was shown that the polymer blend exhibited full restoration of its originally mechanical integrity whereas the mechanical performance of pure TPU was only minimally restored (about 5%). This blend is based on thermoplastic ingredients and thus able to be converted using conventional melt processing. Applications of such blends can be extended to products prone to damage such as liner materials, protective coatings, sporting goods and shoe soles.

Towards Multi-Tiered Quality Control In Manufacturing of Plastics and Composites Using Industry 4.0
Saeed Farahani, May 2020

One of the most important topics in modern manufacturing, Industry 4.0 is quickly changing the way in which production lines in many industries operate. Industry 4.0 broadly refers to the connection of multiple manufacturing systems into a large system in which those individual systems communicate with one another. With systems connected in such a fashion, manufacturers can easily obtain actionable data from every aspect of their systems and use that data to improve their processes. Generally, Industry 4.0 technologies will vary significantly with application, and as a result, it can be difficult to develop an effective system from scratch. Given the increasing quality requirements demanded of the composites industry, particularly from automotive manufacturers, the development of an effective system to integrate data from the manufacturing process and apply it to advanced quality control methods is critical. Accordingly, we propose the concept of a multi-tiered system that combines machine data, in-mold sensors, external sensors, and a human component for use in plastics or composites manufacturing settings. Using this infrastructure, a multivariant analysis is first conducted to evaluate the advantages and limitations of each data sources in terms of determining process and part deviation. In the second study, the feasibility of developing a framework for monitoring quality of injected parts is investigated using a machine learning approach.

Transition From Ductile Failure To Brittle Fracture of High Density Polyethylene Under Creep Loading
Na Tan, May 2020

Uniaxial creep tests on notch-free specimens were conducted on unimodal high-density polyethylene (HDPE) over a wide range of stress and temperature. As expected, occurrence of ductile failure or brittle fracture was found to depend on the applied stress and temperature. In this work, a stress-time-temperature (StT) expression was established to construct the master curve of stress versus creep time to ductile failure (or brittle fracture) at a given temperature, which contains the transition between the two behaviors (commonly known as the DB transition). For the unimodal HDPE used in this study, critical stress for the DB transition was found to decrease significantly, from 11.43 to 6.50 MPa, by increasing test temperature from 296 K to 358.5 K. The corresponding time also reduced considerably, from over 560 hours at 296 K to about 6 hours at 358.5 K. In addition, critical stress for the DB transition shows a good correlation with one characteristic quasi-static stress that we reported before. Such a phenomenon sheds a light on the possibility of using a short-term test to characterize DB transition of PE pipe.

Transition Metal-Catalyzed Degradation of Polymers: Review and Future Perspectives
Andrew Worthen, May 2020

In many instances, failure of polymer-based articles is attributed to chemical interaction with metals or metallic compounds. Indeed, the stability of polymers is often modified by these species; however, their effects on the degradation of polymers are complex and influenced by many factors. This paper reviews known polymer degradation mechanisms and how metals may influence them, discusses deactivators and their role use as stabilizers in polymer formulations, provides literature-based vignettes describing example scenarios where metal-accelerated degradation of plastics may contribute to failures, and provides commentary regarding potential future areas of work in the field.

Understanding the Limitations of 3D Printed Polymers Through A Staged Screening Protocol
Jessica Hemond, May 2020

Direct printing of polymers has continued to advance with new printing technologies and engineering grade materials allowing actual additive manufacturing versus 3D printing of prototypes. Key developments include the adaptation of digital light processing (DLP) printers as well as improvements to and novel powder-based printing systems. These technologies offer the ability to bring new printed materials to the market. However, simply because a material can be printed does not mean that it will function well. With the number of printing and material advances, the need to understand possible failure modes and incorporate that knowledge into screening testing is critical. This work provides basic consideration and screening methodology to ensure that these possible material failure modes are accounted for.

Upcycling Ocean Bound PET Waste Into Durable Materials
Peter Vollenberg, May 2020

Dealing with plastics waste is a major issue confronted by the society. Single use items from water bottles to plastic packaging are major contributors to the generation of plastics waste globally. Innovative upcycling technology can transform a plastic with limited applications and a brief useful life into a different, more-durable resin with expanded potential uses and an extended lifetime. In this way, upcycling can help strengthen the circular economy and can help reduce the impact of single-use plastic applications on the environment. Using propritary de-polymerization of recycled polyester, SABIC has introduced a more sustainable polyester products family containing up to 60% recycled materials. This new PBT and its compounds have similar purity and properties as virgin resin. Hence they are drop in for many virgin PBT or compounded products. Chemistry, properties, and application for these sustainable polyester materials will be discussed. In particular, the application of ocean bound based resin in Dell computer fan housing will be highlighted.

Use of Gradually Changing Profile Shape in Extrudate Sizers for Simplification of Die Design
Mahesh Gupta, May 2020

Simulation of the flow and extrudate deformation in two extrusion dies with gradually changing profile shape in successive sizers is presented. The change in the profile shape in sizers is used to employ a simpler die geometry and then deform the extrudate in sizers to the required final product shape. Effect of non-uniform exit velocity, cooling shrinkage and shape of sizer profiles on extrudate deformation is included in the simulation. The predicted extrudate shape and layer structure is found to match accurately with those in a coextruded product.

Validation of the Virtual Lifetime Prediction Method for Elastomer Components
Simon Rocker, May 2020

In the field of mechanical engineering technical elastomers are indispensable due to their material properties. They are often used to avoid load peaks and to influence the vibration behavior of dynamically loaded systems, because of their damping characteristics. Therefore, one field of research constitutes the damage accumulation and lifetime prediction. This paper presents the validation of the virtual lifetime prediction model method, which was developed at the institute of product engineering at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The lifetime is defined as the number of load cycles till the global damage reaches the value 1. This damage is calculated by a failure criterion based on the change of a characteristic value like the dynamic stiffness degradation from a finite-element (FE) simulation. The virtual lifetime prediction method uses a combination of a damage-dependent material model (Yeoh-Model) and a nonlinear damage accumulation model (nlSAM). Both models are calibrated by means of experimental data from dynamically loaded elastomer components. The nlSAM computes the local damage for each finite element depending on material stresses and pre-damage. The dynamic stiffness degradation is a result of locally changed material properties in the FE simulation due to the damage of each element. Finally, the lifetime prediction for unknown loads and different component geometries of the elastomer is carried out, which shows good agreement with the experimental data of the same material batch.

Viscosity Considerations In Multilayer Coextrusion
Deepak Langhe, May 2020

Due to complex viscoelastic nature of the polymers, it is challenging to process multicomponent structures with uniform layer thicknesses. Although multilayered structures have been processed in a broad array of polymer materials and formulated to service a wide range of applications, a clear understanding of the effects of viscosity matching on the uniformity of the layer periodicity is not well understood. Significant work on viscous encapsulation and secondary flow patterns in the die channels affecting the layer structures has been previously reported. However, further evaluation of these effects on wide range of materials in commercial coextrusion lines has been limited. In this paper, we look to extend the initial studies of rheology in multilayered materials via layer multiplication coextrusion approaches and demonstrate preliminary results on model systems that illustrate the effect of mismatched viscosity on coextrusion multilayered polymer materials systems.

Workflow for Enhanced Fiber Orientation Prediction of Short Fiber-reinforced Thermoplastics
Susanne Kugler, May 2020

In this paper a workflow is proposed for an enhanced fiber orientation prediction in injection molding of short fiber-reinforced thermoplastics. The workflow is easy-to-use, as the final fiber orientation prediction is integrated into the commercial software Moldflow®. For a given material with polymer matrix P and a volume fraction x of fibers, four steps have to be performed: 1) Generating a representative volume element (in the following, referred to as cell) with volume fraction x and mean fiber length, 2) Shearing of the cell using a mechanistic fiber simulation, 3) Calculating the transient fiber orientation tensor and fitting macroscopic parameters and 4) Performing the fiber orientation analysis with the optimized macroscopic parameters in Moldflow®. Based on experimental data, the pARD-RSC model was selected as macroscopic simulation model. It was implemented in Moldflow® via the Solver API feature. The enhanced workflow is validated at the example of two industrial applications with different polymer matrices and different fiber volume fractions. With the proposed workflow, we observe equal or higher accuracy of fiber orientation estimation in comparison to Moldflow® fiber orientation models RSC and MRD.

Commercializing Recyclable Plastic Packaging – A Journey of Discovery
Lawrence Effler, February 2020

Major brands and retailers have made various pledges to have recyclable plastic packaging by various targets dates. However, most recyclable solutions are not drop in replacements for existing packaging. Also, it’s not enough for the package to be reprocessable to be commercially recyclable other elements must also be in place. So, what does it take to have a commercially recyclable package and how do we get there?

Bag-in-Box Liquid Packaging Solutions (Paper)
Patrick Thomas, February 2020

Bag-in-Box Liquid Packaging Solutions Case Study: Using systematic troubleshooting methodology to identify and eliminate the root cause of liquid packaging leaker defects, a significant improvement in tear strength and flexcrack resistance was observed when coex split nylon film is manufactured with downward water quench film technology.

Bag-in-Box Liquid Packaging Solutions (Presentation)
Patrick Thomas, February 2020

Bag-in-Box Liquid Packaging Solutions Case Study: Using systematic troubleshooting methodology to identify and eliminate the root cause of liquid packaging leaker defects, a significant improvement in tear strength and flexcrack resistance was observed when coex split nylon film is manufactured with downward water quench film technology.

Create Sustainable Flexible Packaging Solutions, Together
Mosha Zhao, February 2020

It will be a presentation to discuss about flexible packaging (film) sustainable efforts and solutions based on polyethylene and polypropylene.

PP Sustainability Development - An Update
John Layman, February 2020

At P&G, environmental sustainability is embedded in how we do business. We have a responsibility to make the world better — through the products we create and the positive impact our brands and Company can have in communities worldwide. We’ve established ambitious goals to minimize our environmental footprint, to innovate with the best and safest ingredients from both science and nature, and to create products that make responsible consumption irresistible for people everywhere. This tutorial will provide an overview of P&G’s environmental sustainability programs including an in-depth discussion of P&G’s polyolefin recycling efforts.

ASTM Testing - An Overview
Paul O'Connell, February 2020

An overview of the ASTM will be presented. Topics covered will include a brief background on the ASTM and the needs for standards. The structure of ASTM committees will be discussed and their role in developing and approving new standards. The various types of standards (Methods, Guides, Specifications etc.) will be shown and a ‘walk-through’ of a typical standard highlighting the various sections and the critical parameters that the user needs to be aware of when developing tests to a specific standard. The Proficiency Testing Program (PTP) and training offerings from ASTM will be shown and lastly there will be a brief look at other national and international standards with emphasize on ISO.

Sorting Through Plastic Waste: Is Chemical Recycling a Solution?
Steven Slome, February 2020

Single use plastics remain under fire from the public, but do they deserve the hate? Single use plastics remain the most sustainable option in many cases. Improving the end-of-life options for single use plastics and polyolefins in particular, can do greatly to improve the sustainability of these plastics and perhaps lessen the ire of the public. Several options have emerged for chemically recycling polymers that until now have remained "unrecyclable". This presentation is a broad overview of chemical recycling options available to plastics, with a particular focus on sustainability and single use plastics. Technology options, economics, drivers, as well as issues for commercialization are discussed. The data presented is supported by recent reports available for subscription. 

SASOL Polymers in the U.S.: The World is Flat
Louis Snyders, February 2020

In 2014, Sasol made the FID to build a world scale chemicals complex in Lake Charles, adjacent to our current facilities, that would target a global customer base. This presentation delves into Sasol as a company and the rationale behind the investments in the US, focusing specifically on Polyethylene. We will explore the strategy Sasol is executing to reach a global customer base while at the same time addressing how the current oversupply of Polyethylene is changing the global but also domestic supply and pricing dynamics. The world, in essence, is now flat! 










spe2018logov4.png
  Welcome Page

How to reference articles from the SPE Library:

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.

If you need help with citations, visit www.citationmachine.net