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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The efficiency of using a cryogenic milling device for mixing a polymer with highly agglomerated multi-walled carbon nanotubes, to create polymer nanotubes nanocomposite, was evaluated. PEO/CNT and PE/CNT nanocomposites studied contained 1% and 2% of MWCNTs, and were blended in a cryogenic milling apparatus using two sizes of milling balls, and different milling times. The nanocomposites were characterized using SEM and DSC. Intimate contact between polymeric matrices and the CNTs was observed through SEM analysis. The thermal analysis results showed small variations in the transition temperatures of the nanocomposite when compared with the unfilled polymers.
Yumi Hashimoto , Yasuo Hashimoto , Tetsuya Tsujii , Yew Wei Leong , Kazushi Yamada , Hiroyuki Hamada
Yew Wei LEONG3 Kazushi YAMADA3 Hiroyuki HAMADA3
Yew Wei Leong , Kazushi Yamada , Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
Oriented Polypropylene/Cast Polypropylene (OPP/CPP)
film is made by laminating OPP and CPP which is widely
used as general packaging material. OPP functions as a
moisture resistant layer while CPP provides better heatsealability.
In earlier investigations effects of heat-sealing
temperature on properties of heat-sealed OPP/CPP film
were investigated. The optimum heat-sealing temperature
was found to be 140°C. In this study different seal
pressures were used at 140°C. It was revealed that the peel
strength is dependant on the seal pressure whereby the
maximum peel strength was achieved at 0.03 MPa. The
mechanical properties on the heat sealed part were
examined by means of tensile test with circular notch peel
test and scanning electron microscopy.
Yumi HASHIMOTO , Yasuo HASHIMOTO , Tetsuya TSUJII , Yew Wei LEONG , Kazushi YAMADA , Hiroyuki HAMADA, May 2010
Oriented Polypropylene/Cast Polypropylene (OPP/CPP) film is made by laminating OPP and CPP, which is widely used as general packaging material. OPP functions as a moisture resistant layer while CPP provides better heatsealability.In earlier investigations, effects of heat-sealing temperature on properties of heat-sealed OPP/CPP film were investigated. The optimum heat-sealing temperature was found to be 140?øC. In this study, different seal pressures were used at 140?øC. It was revealed that the peel strength is dependant on the seal pressure, whereby the maximum peel strength was achieved at 0.03 MPa. The mechanical properties on the heat sealed part were examined by means of tensile test with circular notch, peel test and scanning electron microscopy.
D.S. Bangarusampath , Holger Ruckdäschel , Volker Altstädt , Jan K.W. Sandler , Milo S.P. Shaffer, May 2010
The inhomogeneous dispersion of carbonnanotubes (CNTs) acts as the main hindrance forexploiting the exceptional properties associated with CNTin polymer/CNT composites. However only fewsystematic studies clearly relate the structural featureswith the property profile of nanocomposites based ondifferent nanotube grades. The aim of this study thereforewas to process nanotube-based polymeric composites andto correlate their degree of dispersion with the resultingrheological (both shear and elongation) as well aselectrical behavior. A range of multi-wall carbonnanotubes (MWNT) and single-wall carbon nanotubes(SWNT) reinforced high temperature semi-crystallinepoly (ether ether ketone) (PEEK) were prepared by meltcompounding process. The composites with high degreeof nanotube dispersion shows nearly five orders ofmagnitude increase in storage modulus and an abruptincrease of ten orders magnitude in electrical conductivityby adding only 2 wt% of nanotubes. Additionally boththe melt strength and the elongational viscosity cansignificantly increase by incorporating nanotubes.However this increment effect strongly depends on thedegree of dispersion of nanotubes in the polymer matrix.As highlighted by the experimental results both thedispersion and interfacial interaction between the matrixand nanotubes are the key factors for improving theproperties of such nanocomposites.
Siti Fatimah Aminuddin, Leong Yew Wei, Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
The development and application of an in-line near infrared spectroscopic measurement system is discussed. Key results included a rapid, in-line method to measure the composition of a multi-component process stream at the exit of the extruder, and identification of a process model that is used to understand the disturbance rejection capabilities of the process. The composition monitoring yielded further process understanding; specifically system residence time distribution mapping and process disturbance identification. Lastly, the potential for prediction of process disturbance rejection capabilities is discussed.
Siti Fatimah Aminuddin , Leong Yew Wei , Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most
important fibers for industrial production due to its high
performance low cost and recyclability. The amount of
waste that arise from post-consumer PET especially in the
beverage industry have made recycling of poly(ethylene
terephthalate) (PET) a beneficial effort in reducing
environmental pollution. Studies of blends and composites
using recycled PET have been carried out with several
polymeric materials like polyethylene and polystyrene. In
this work recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/ recycled
polypropylene (RPET/RPP) blends was subjected to
injection molding and then subjected to hydrothermal
treatment in water bath at below transition glass
temperature to determine the amount of moisture
absorption. As polypropylene tends to degrade at a faster
rate than poly(ethylene terephthalate) the results show
that defect of polypropylene effect the tensile strength and
modulus of the RPET/RPP blends.
Siti Fatimah Aminuddin , Leong Yew Wei , Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most important fibers for industrial production due to its high performance,low cost, and recyclability. The amount of waste that arise from post-consumer PET especially in the beverage industry have made recycling of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) a beneficial effort in reducing environmental pollution. Studies of blends and composites using recycled PET have been carried out with several polymeric materials, like polyethylene and polystyrene. In this work, recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/ recycled polypropylene (RPET/RPP) blends was subjected to injection molding and then subjected to hydrothermal treatment in water bath at below transition glass temperature to determine the amount of moisture absorption. As polypropylene tends to degrade at a faster rate than poly(ethylene terephthalate), the results show that defect of polypropylene effect the tensile strength and modulus of the RPET/RPP blends.
Daniel P. Dempsey , Millington Adkins IV, May 2010
Santoprene grade 201-87 is a commonthermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) used in blow moldingbecause of its excellent melt strength which lends to lesssag in the parison and ultimately lower wall thicknessvariations and a higher achievable maximum blow up ratio(BUR). However 201-87 (TPV 1) also has a particularlyhigh durometer which becomes a disadvantage in dextralapplications.Santoprene grade 201-55 (TPV 2) is another TPVwith mechanical characteristics comparable to that of theTPV 1 but with a much lower durometer and maximumachievable blow up ratio. The objective of this study is theretention of mechanical characteristics of the two TPVgrades being subjected to increased additive amounts of apolymer modifier Vistamaxx 6102 (Additive 1).
This paper investigates the process of precision compression-molding of plastics lenses with near-zero residual birefringence in the molded lenses. First, plastics preforms are injection molded by a conventional injection molding machine by net-shape molding technology. The preforms are then re-heated by infrared heaters and compressed under hydrostatic pressure conditions for form-finishing and stress-relieving. Once the preforms are heated above glass transition temperature, the moldings would release the frozen-in residual-stresses and retain the form accuracy via low compression pressure employed for shrinkage compensation. The compression molding process exhibits advantages of low process costs, high production efficiency, and good dimensional accuracy with zero-birefringence. First, experiments incorporated with Taguchi method are conducted for parameter optimization in residual stresses and form accuracy. The preliminary results show that plastic lenses optimized for form accuracy could have p-v values smaller than 0.35 micron plus RMS surface roughness less than 60 nm. More importantly, the plastic lenses are molded with little birefringence throughout the process.
This research is to investigate the TIR (Total
Internal Reflection) lens as secondary optical
element mounted on a LED for landscape and indoor
illumination. The TIR lens is like a cone bell with
the ratio of gate thickness to cavity thickness is
about 1: 10. The simulation software Moldex 3D is
used to simulate the melt front behavior for 3D
filling. Experimental results show that injection
speed mold temperature and melt temperature
significantly affect the final quality of TIR lens.
Molding parameters are obtained in this research to
improve the optical performance and that can be
applied on LED market in the future.
This research is to investigate the TIR (Total Internal Reflection) lens as secondary optical element mounted on a LED for landscape and indoor illumination. The TIR lens is like a cone bell with the ratio of gate thickness to cavity thickness is about 1: 10. The simulation software, Moldex 3D is used to simulate the melt front behavior for 3D filling. Experimental results show that injection speed, mold temperature and melt temperature significantly affect the final quality of TIR lens.Molding parameters are obtained in this research to improve the optical performance and that can be applied on LED market in the future.
Renato Bonadiman, Ocileide Custódio da Silva, Marco Elísio Marques, Tommi Reinikainen, May 2010
The reactive extrusion of maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (PP-g-MAH) with ethylenediamine (EDA) as coupling agent was carried out in a co-rotating twin-screw extruder to produce long chain branched polypropylene (LCBPP). Part of PP-g-MAH was replaced by maleic anhydride grafted high-density polyethylene (HDPE-g-MAH) or linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE-g-MAH) to obtain hybrid long chain branched (LCB) polymers. Compared with the linear PP, PE and their blends, the LCB polyolefins exhibit excellent dynamic shear and transient extensional rheological characteristics such as increased dynamic modulus, higher low-frequency complex viscosity, significantly enhanced melt strength and strain-hardening behaviors. LCB polymers also have higher tensile strength, tensile modulus, impact strength and lower elongation at break than linear polymer and their blends. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) was introduced in the reactive extrusion process. With the presence of scCO2, the motor current of twin extruder was decreased and LCB polyolefins with lower MFR, higher complex viscosity and increased tensile strength and modulus were obtained. This indicates that the application of scCO2 can reduce the viscosity of melt in extruder, enhance the diffusion of reactive species, facilitate the reaction between functional groups, and increase the LCB density. The foaming behavior of both linear and LCB polyolefins were studied. The results show that cellular materials produced from the LCB polyolefins have higher weight reduction, smaller cell size and better mechanical properties than those produced from the linear polymers.
Renato Bonadiman , Ocileide Custódio da Silva , Marco Elísio Marques , Tommi Reinikainen, May 2010
Printed electronics is a promising technology to
obtain electronic devices with low cost. Printing
techniques using nano-size material particles at low
temperatures can revolutionize the electronics industry in
coming years. Therefore the challenge is to provide
sufficient quality of interconnecting traces by the selection
of appropriate materials and printing conditions more
precise material deposition process and sintering.
Adequate process control would lead to suitable electrical
conductivity of printed interconnections. In this work the
influence of surface treatment on polyimide polyester and
polysulphone (PSU) and its effect on the resolution of
printed silver traces was evaluated. It was possible to
observe a high dependence between traces resolution and
surface treatments.
Renato Bonadiman , Ocileide Custódio da Silva , Marco Elísio Marques , Tommi Reinikainen, May 2010
Printed electronics is a promising technology to obtain electronic devices with low cost. Printing techniques using nano-size material particles at low temperatures can revolutionize the electronics industry in coming years. Therefore, the challenge is to provide sufficient quality of interconnecting traces by the selection of appropriate materials and printing conditions, more precise material deposition process and sintering.Adequate process control would lead to suitable electrical conductivity of printed interconnections. In this work, the influence of surface treatment on polyimide, polyester and polysulphone (PSU), and its effect on the resolution of printed silver traces was evaluated. It was possible to observe a high dependence between traces resolution and surface treatments.
Tomoko Ohta , Tohru Morii , Yew Wei Leong , Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
This study deals with the fracture behavior and
acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of jute fiber
reinforced polypropylene composite. In general the
mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced
composites are not so high and it is demanded to enhance
them for actual application. Therefore jute and glass
fibers hybrid PP ([GF/JF]/PP) composites were developed
and the effect of fiber content on the tensile properties and
fracture behavior was discussed through the AE
characteristics. In [GF/JF]/PP composites the optimum
fiber content for the improvement of tensile strength was
determined and the tensile strength depended on the
initiation of fracture detected by AE.
Tomoko Ohta , Tohru Morii , Yew Wei Leong , Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
This study deals with the fracture behavior and acoustic emission (AE) characteristics of jute fiber reinforced polypropylene composite. In general, the mechanical properties of natural fiber reinforced composites are not so high, and it is demanded to enhance them for actual application. Therefore, jute and glass fibers hybrid PP ([GF/JF]/PP) composites were developed and the effect of fiber content on the tensile properties and fracture behavior was discussed through the AE characteristics. In [GF/JF]/PP composites the optimum fiber content for the improvement of tensile strength was determined, and the tensile strength depended on the initiation of fracture detected by AE.
Conventional sandwich molding process with a core
layer of a plate type reinforced material is utilized with a
special type mold attached slide cores. We studied a low
cost process to mold a sandwich structure by performing
an injection-press molding process that was one process of
an injection compression molding process. This sandwich
molding process was constructed with assembled a
standard injection molding process and an injection-press
molding process and was controlled a position of a core
layer of a plate type reinforced material. As a result it was
confirmed that this sandwich molding process was
effective for controlling a position of a core layer of a
plate type reinforced material and for improving strength
of a sandwich structure. In addition this sandwich
molding process was effective for reducing thickness of a
sandwich structure and was contributed to lighten weight
of a sandwich structure.
Conventional sandwich molding process with a corelayer of a plate type reinforced material is utilized with aspecial type mold attached slide cores. We studied a lowcost process to mold a sandwich structure by performingan injection-press molding process that was one process ofan injection compression molding process. This sandwichmolding process was constructed with assembled astandard injection molding process and an injection-pressmolding process, and was controlled a position of a corelayer of a plate type reinforced material. As a result, it wasconfirmed that this sandwich molding process waseffective for controlling a position of a core layer of aplate type reinforced material and for improving strengthof a sandwich structure. In addition, this sandwichmolding process was effective for reducing thickness of asandwich structure and was contributed to lighten weightof a sandwich structure.
The objective of this work is to demonstrate the concept of 'simulation driven package development'. The concept involves not only simulating the structural behavior of the medical package (e.g. under top loading), but also predicting the package material distribution due to the manufacturing process conditions and tying that to the structural analysis. The structural analysis will thus take the more physical, and usually non-uniform, part material thickness distribution into consideration. The concept is highlighted through a case study.In this study, numerical simulation is used to model the thermoforming process of a medical tray. Two different thermoforming processes are examined. The first is a simple drape forming technique where the sheet is formed over a male mold through vacuum. In the second, aiming at obtaining a more uniform material distribution, prestretching of the sheet is applied prior to the vacuum forming. The resulting material distribution is compared with that of the simple drape forming. The resulting degree of warpage at the end of the cooling step for the two cases is compared. Also, the effect of the different forming processes on the top loading behavior of the tray is studied.The resulting material distribution from each forming process is taken into account when performing the virtual structural test. Thus the concept of 'simulation driven package development' is highlighted.
Satoshi Nagai, Akira Okamura, Wongsriraksa Patcharat, Kazushi Yamada, Yew Wei Leong, Hiroyuki Hamada, May 2010
This paper deals with the fiber laser welding of overlapped engineering plastic sheets, using a solid heat sink transparent to the laser beam to prevent thermal damage. A fiber laser whose wavelength is 1.9 ?¬m is used for the welding. It is hard to join transparent engineering plastics not using any laser-absorbing pigments with ordinary laser welding. So this novel laser welding procedure, which prevents thermal damage to the surface of the plastic, was proposed. A solid heat sink is placed in contact with the irradiated polymer sheet, helping to prevent thermal damage of the film surface. Thus, the proposed fiber laser welding system is successful in welding plastic sheets which are difficult to weld with CO2 laser.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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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, ISBN: 123-0-1234567-8-9, pp. 000-000.
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.
