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

EXPERIMENTAL DETERMINATION OF THE AESTHETIC, DIMENSIONAL AND CONTROL PROCESS WINDOWS USING THE TECHNIQUE OF DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS IN INJECTION MOLDING

Suhas Kulkarni, May 2010

Traditionally, the mold qualification procedure involves sampling the mold and establishing a process to make acceptable parts. Process engineering studies such as in-mold rheology, gate seal tests and generating process windows are most commonly performed. Design of Experiments (DOE) are conducted to study the effect of the molding factors on the quality of the part and sometimes to find the process to mold a part within the quality specifications. The process engineering studies and the DOEs are conducted independent of each other. This paper combines these techniques and introduces the concepts of the Aesthetic Process Window, the Dimensional Process Window and the Control Process Window.

EFFECT OF BOTH TALC FINENESS AND TALC LOADING ON HETEROGENEOUS NUCLEATION OF BLOCK COPOLYMER POLYPROPYLENE

Piergiovanni Ercoli Malacari, May 2010

The heterogeneous nucleation behavior of block copolymer polypropylene modified with fine talc is discussed as a function of talc fineness and loading into a polymer matrix. Specifically, three talc samples having different particle size distributions were used to modify the resin. Non isothermal and isothermal nucleation were studied and mechanical performances were evaluated as well. Itƒ??s been demonstrated that higher nucleation efficiency can be observed for the finer talc sample at the higher concentration (evaluated in experimental work). Isothermal crystallization study showed on one side a visible reduction of crystallization half time when talc is introduced in block copolymer polypropylene and kinetic parameters from Avrami models on isothermal tests confirmed efficiency of talc as nucleating agent. Besides process advantages in nucleating block copolymer polypropylene (lower cycle time in injection molding), an evident advantage in mechanical properties was observed. The addition of talc in small amount enhanced rigidity and lowered molding shrinkage, with no significant variation in impact resistance properties.

SILICONE BASED FLAME RETARDANT FOR POLYCARBONATE

Wolfgang Abele , Yukihito Ozaki , Takeshi Chiba , Kazunori Saegusa, May 2010

Kaneka Corporation has developed a silicone based flame retardant for Polycarbonate, Kane Ace MR-01. MR- 01 realizes non-bromine and non-phosphorus flame retardant PC compound and increases low-temperature impact strength. Kaneka's renowned graft polymerization technology makes it possible to disperse the cross-linked silicone particle into Polycarbonate matrix. MR-01 achieves V-0 in UL-94 protocol at 1.2 mm thickness (Kaneka's evaluation data) with a small amount of PTFE. MR-01 also has excellent thermal stability, which provides with superior impact strength retention after heat aging, and maintains the flame retardancy after recycling process.

NEW OPTIONS IN SPECIAL EFFECT PIGMENTS

Scott Heitzman, May 2010

The current range of products designed to attain special effects continues to expand. Growth was driven by designers demanding new options to color plastic parts. Producers of effect pigments continue to respond with technological innovations and modifications of existing pigments and additives. This paper will discuss this expanded pallet and the effects and applications for which they were intended. The primary focus is on Industrial grade pearlescent pigments, synthetic grade pearlescent pigments (including colored pigment coated pearls), high density coated pearl pigments and novel metal oxide coated pearlescent pigments.

LASER MARKING ADDITIVES: NEW SOLUTIONS

Ling Du, Sadhan C. Jana, May 2010

This paper describes new materials and applications for the plastics industry focused on lasermarking polymers. In the context of the paper we will describe the current state of-the-art, equipment and the new technology. Laser marking is generally accepted to be the best way of permanently marking plastics. As a leader in laser marking Technology, we offers laser marking additives which improve the laser sensitivity of polymers. In addition to the standard portfolio (we will call them ƒ??Lƒ?products); we have added an outstanding NEW laser additive (we will call this product line ƒ??Mƒ? products): it is a robust, high-performance additive that enhances the dark-on-lightƒ? laser marking performance of most thermoplastics. Its versatility makes it suitable for use in all processing technologies and for a wide range of applications. The pelletized product ƒ??Mƒ?? can be added directly in the processing step or incorporated in masterbatches together with other additives and colors.

THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY OF EPOXY FILLED WITH EXPANDED GRAPHITE PLATELETS

Ling Du , Sadhan C. Jana, May 2010

Expanded graphite (EG)-filled epoxy composites with thermal conductivity of 56 W/m-k were developed for applications as bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The high thermal conductivity resulted from the high intrinsic thermal conductivity of EG of 600 W/m-k. The global conductive network of graphite in the composites was achieved via solution intercalation mixing followed by compression molding and curing process. Characterization of surface chemistry of the EG by XPS showed strong potential for interfacial adhesion between graphite and epoxy matrix, which in the final composites resulted in reduced interfacial thermal boundary resistance, and thus high thermal conductivity.The composites also showed high electrical conductivity of 200-500 S/cm.

POLYMER-CLAY NANOCOMPOSITES OF POLY (BUTYLENE ADIPATE-CO-TEREPHTHALATE) AND POLY (LACTIC ACID) BLEND: EFFECTS OF INCORPORATING ORGANICALLY MODIFIED SILICATE LAYERS AND THE MIXING SEQUENCE ON THE MORPH

Nan Chen, Jing Wang, Yaogai G. Li, Takashi Kuboki, Chul B. Park, May 2010

This paper describes new materials and applications for the plastics industry focused on lasermarking polymers. In the context of the paper we will describe the current state of-the-art, equipment and the new technology. Laser marking is generally accepted to be the best way of permanently marking plastics. As a leader in laser marking Technology, we offers laser marking additives which improve the laser sensitivity of polymers. In addition to the standard portfolio (we will call them ƒ??Lƒ? products); we have added an outstanding NEW laser additive (we will call this product line ƒ??Mƒ? products): it is a robust, high-performance additive that enhances the dark-on-lightƒ? laser marking performance of most thermoplastics. Its versatility makes it suitable for use in all processing technologies and for a wide range of applications. The pelletized product ƒ??Mƒ? can be added directly in the processing step or incorporated in masterbatches together with other additives and colors.

EFFECT OF A BLOWING AGENT ON THE FLOW PROPERTIES IN EXTRUSION AND INJECTION MOLDING

Nan Chen , Jing Wang , Yaogai G. Li , Takashi Kuboki , Chul B. Park, May 2010

In this paper, the effect of a dissolved blowing agent on the flow rate in extrusion and injection molding is studied using a single-screw foaming extruder with an accurate gas injection control. Although the decrease of the viscosity with the dissolution of the blowing agent has been measured and modeled, the flow properties have not been quantitatively evaluated to determine the processing window in foam extrusion and injection molding. This research measures the flow rate change systematically with varying the gas content in the polymer melt while maintaining the pressure constant by controlling the gear pump speed. The reduced viscosity increased the mass flow rate of the polymer significantly despite the decreased density with the dissolution of gas.

STANDARD FOR ENERGY RATING WITH RESIN DRYERS AND CLASSIFICATION OF DRY AIR QUALITY

Sonny Morneault , Andreas Vierling, May 2010

When it comes to resin drying, energy consumption is quickly becoming a key factor in the decision making process for one technology over another. However, drying energy consumption has several elements and key factors that affect the overall energy use of a dryer. It is a combination of heat-up energy and sustainable drying energy that are the elements that will, in the end, affect how much it costs to dry your resin on an annual basis.A uniform industry test standard would define the air capacity, basic load and kWh/unit of material. An industry test standard would allow users to plug in there given material, throughput and local energy rate, to calculate the true annual energy cost.

EFFECT OF LAYER SEQUENCING ON THE IMPACT PROPERTIES OF MULTILAYERED, TRANSPARENT STRUCTURES

Sonny Morneault, Andreas Vierling, May 2010

Conventional coextrusion and lamination technologies were employed to characterize layer sequencing effects on the impact properties of multilayered, transparent structures incorporating high impact resistant materials. Laminated structures utilizing 100 sheets of five-layered coextruded films were successfully generated. Cross-sectional specimens of these structures revealed no obvious weld lines. Most importantly, layer sequencing had a distinct influence on the impact failure modes and, therefore, on the impact properties of the thick multilayered structures.

STATIC DEFLECTION MODELING OF A PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATED CANTILEVER COMPOSITE LAP JOINT BEAM

Ray L. Hauser, May 2010

This work studies the use of surface bonded piezoelectric induced strain actuators and their effect on the static deflection of a single lap joint epoxy-fiber composite cantilever beam. Euler-Bernoulli beam theory was utilized to derive the elastic curves for pre-load and post-load actuation, accounting for changes in flexural rigidity of the beam. The model accounts for physical properties of the composite beam and piezoelectric, as well as the piezoelectric bond location. A numerical study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of piezoelectric actuation based pre-load and post-load actuation, as well as bond region has been performed. Post-load actuation was found to be from 2.5% - 70% more effective than pre-load actuation, depending on the bond location. Bond Region I was found to be most effective for both pre-load and postload actuation.

CARBON NANOTUBE MAT BIOCOMPOSITE FOR ENZYMATIC GLUCOSE/O2 BIOFUEL CELL

Jongeun Ryu , Tsuyoshi Saotome , H. Thomas Hahn, May 2010

In this paper, mediator-, separator-less glucose/O2 biofuel cell was built on carbon nanotube (CNT) mat electrodes. Glucose oxidase (GOx) and bilirubin oxidase (BOD) were immobilized on the mat via covalent bonding. The CNT mat is a sheet of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) which has high electrical conductivity and aspect ratio. CNT mat is expected to be one of the ideal electrode materials for biochemical applications for its easy functionalization, electrical conductivity, large surface area, porosity, and ability to lower the overpotential in various bio-chemical species. The electron transfer rate constant obtained in this study is 1.78 s-1. The open circuit voltage and maximum power density obtained from this biofuel cell are 50 mV and 38.7 ?¬A/cm2, respectively.

OPTIMIZING FLAVOR PERCEPTION IN PLASTICS

Patrick C. Lee, Christopher W. Macosko, May 2010

Polymeric articles are used in a wide variety of applications, including some which require oral contact. Direct incorporation of just flavorant into a polymer results in an inferior flavor response. Three synergists were tested in combination with a flavorant to evaluate effect on flavor perception in a polymeric article. A flavor panel test was designed to measure responses on flavor identification and intensity to compare between compositions with just flavorant and those in combination with a synergist. It was found that the application of a unique synergist could enhance flavor perception dramatically.

EFFECT OF ORGANOCLAY STRUCTURE AND DISPERSION ON THE IMPACT AND SELF-HEALING PROPERTIES OF IONOMER-NANOCLAY COMPOSITES

Dante Guerra, Siva Movva, Zhi-Qi Cai, Yunior Hioe, Eusebio Cabrera, L. James Lee, Jose M. Castro, May 2010

The effect of organoclay structure and panel thickness on the impact properties of ionomer/organoclay composites was investigated for the purpose of determining if incorporation of surface treated clay platelets within an ionomer matrix improves the self-healing properties of ionomers upon impact for military applications. Full self-healing closure of the damage caused by projectile impact was achieved at a panel thickness of 1.6 mm for the ionomer/organoclay composites, which is approximately 3.5 times less than that required with the corresponding unfilled ionomer matrix. Furthermore, self-healing closure requires good dispersion of the clay platelets within the ionomer matrix, where most of the platelets exhibit an exfoliated morphological structure.

Novel Methods of Incorporating Nanoparticles into Fiber Preforms

Dante Guerra , Siva Movva , Zhi-Qi Cai , Yunior Hioe , Eusebio Cabrera , L. James Lee , Jose M. Castro, May 2010

Conventional fiber reinforced polymer composites offer many desirable properties such as high strength to weight ratio and high modulus to weight ratio. Nanoparticles have shown great promise for improving mechanical properties. Successful incorporation of nanoparticles has long been a great challenge for the composite industry. In this study, a novel approach is applied to incorporate nanoparticles into WindStrand' glass fiber preforms, Vinyl Ester composite panels were manufactured through vacuum assisted resin transfer molding. Mechanical properties of the composites were measured. Flexural strength and modulus were improved with incorporation of nanoparticles.

THERMAL AND RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF POLY-(3-HYDROXYBUTYRATE-CO-3-HYDROXYVALERATE) AND POLY (LACTIC ACID) BLENDS FOR FOOD PACKAGING APPLICATIONS

Sunny Modi, Kurt Koelling, Yael Vodovotz, May 2010

The objective of this study was to characterize the thermal and rheological properties of Poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blended with Poly (L-lactic acid) (PLA) resin at different concentrations and relate these findings to potential food packaging applications. The thermal analysis showed increasing concentration of PHBV resulted in lower thermal stability of PLA. Several melting transitions for the blends were observed representative of phase separated polymers. The complex viscosity showed no improvements in the PHBV when compared to the blends.

COMPARISON OF RANDOM AND BLOCK POLYPROPYLENE COPOLYMERS IN EXTRUSION FOAMING

Eung Kee Lee , Kyungmin. Lee , Peter U. Jung , Hani E. Naguib , Chul B. Park, May 2010

This study aims to compare the extrusion-foaming behaviors of a random polypropylene (PP) copolymer and a block PP copolymer in terms of cell nucleation as well as foam expansion. N-butane and talc were respectively selected as a physical blowing agent and a nucleating agent for extrusion foaming. Foamed samples were obtained by conducting extrusion foaming using a single screw extruder. In addition, the amount of dissolved blowing agent and talc content were varied to observe the effect on cell morphology and expansion trend, which were then characterized with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a pyknometer. The die temperature as a processing parameter was also manipulated in this study. The block PP copolymer showed much higher cell nucleation than the random PP copolymer with no nucleating agent as the dispersed ethylene-propylene particles were able to function as nucleating agents in the block PP copolymer.

RHEOLOGICAL STUDY AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ACETAMINOPHEN AND POLY (ETHYLENE) OXIDE FOR HOT-MELT EXTRUSION PROCESS

Herman Suwardie, Min Yang, Peng Wang, Huiju Liu, Costas G. Gogos, May 2010

Solid dispersions made from mixing polymers and drug have caught a lot interest in recent years. One major technical barrier limiting broader applications of solid dispersions is the lack of drugƒ??s solubility data in polymer matrix. Furthermore, there is no standard or widely accepted method for the testing of drugƒ??s solubility. Zhang et. al?ÿ developed a novel method using Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) recently. However, it requires tedious and delicate experimental work. Therefore, a new method via rheological characterization is explored in our laboratory. The steady from both oscillatory and capillary rheometer) and dynamic (oscillatory rheometer) viscosities of the drug-polymer system are measured for different drug concentrations at various temperatures. The rheological results presented not only can be utilized for process optimization and material characterization, such as molecular weight determination, but also provides valuable information on the drugƒ??s solubility in polymeric excipients.

WALL SLIP AND EXTRUDED CABLE GEOMETRY OF HIGH DENSITY POLYETHLENE

Marcus Sutch, Anna Liberg, Mike Gould, May 2010

Experiments were performed by a Rosand capillary rheometer and Ares control strain rheometer with a specialty high density polyethylene to determine the relationship between wall slip velocity and shear stress and the onset of slip at temperature of 190oC. Results were utilized in the computational fluid dynamics modeling in the extruded cable geometry predictions. It was found that melt slip occurs at critical shear stresses of approximately 93 KPa and 60 KPa in capillary flow and torsional flow tests respectively. Wall slip impacted extrudate geometry in different ways depending on cable contours based on the numerical analysis.

IMPACT OF FLEXIBLE AUTOMATION ON IN MOLD LABELING

Marcus Sutch , Anna Liberg , Mike Gould, May 2010

To investigate the potential of using articulated robots in combination with standardized labeling system and a dedicated mold for reaching optimal cycle time as well as flexible system, a test system was developed and optimized based on standard components. Based on the system described, in mold labeling (IML) tests were carried out comprising thin wall products ranging from 32 oz to 20 l. During optimization the niche segment for this specific system was identified. Result show that a competitive cycle time can be achieved while providing the molder with additional benefits. Cost advantages are achieved by combination of labels. The system provides a greater opportunity for post molded operations such as sizing for faster cycles weighing, printing, quality inspection, assembly, packing and palletizing. A greater level of flexibility in the molding system was achieved to extract and post mold process IML parts as well as none IML parts, thus driving a greater operational scope to the investment in automation. Investment in the system could to a major part be recovered at change of production.