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
Highly Conductive Epoxy Composites for Application as Bipolar Plates in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCS)
Ling Du, Sadhan C. Jana, May 2007
Electrically conductive graphite-filled epoxy composites were developed by solution intercalation mixing of epoxy resins with expanded graphite (EG) and carbon black (CB), followed by compression molding and curing for application as bipolar plates in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). High in-plane conductivity of 200-500 S/cm compared to DOE target value of 100 S/cm was achieved with good mechanical properties. The flexural modulus, flexural strength and impact strength were 2.08×104 MPa, 72 MPa, and 173 J/m respectively. The composites also showed high glass transition temperatures (Tg ~ 141°C) and high thermal degradation temperatures (T2 ~ 415°C). Hygrothermal effects on electrical, thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties were evaluated especially under acidic conditions. The maximum water absorption was found to be 1-2 % by weight for these composites, compared to 4-5% for cured EP resins without fillers. SEM micrographs suggested no change in morphology due to reflux in water and acid.
Production of a Tractor Cab Roof Module Using Direct In-Line Compounding of Long Glass Fiber Thermoplastics
Scott Ledebuhr, Darin Grinsteinner, Scott Snowberger, May 2007
Composite Products, Inc. continually adapts their Advantage In-Line Compounding Process to produce products that use novel composite molding tools and methods. In a recent agricultural application, a tractor cab roof combined long glass fiber thermoplastics with innovative tooling and molding methods to simultaneously maximize structure and aesthetic appearance. Additionally, significant cost and performance advantages were realized through part consolidation, material waste reduction, reduction in manufacturing steps at the OEM, and corrosion resistance. The launch of this product was achieved through the successful combination of materials, tooling and process.
Effects of Molding Process on Residual Fiber Length of Long Fiber Polypropylene Composites
William T. Short, Edward J. Wenzel, May 2007
Fiber length distributions were determined for long fiber polypropylene composites reinforced with carbon, glass or glass-organic fibers from pultruded pellets, chopped fiber, or in-line roving, and molded by multiple long fiber thermoplastic injection (LFT-IM) or extrusion-compression molding (LFT-ECM) processes. All processes degraded the fiber length significantly. Injection molding processes reduced fiber length by up to 90%, much more than LFT-ECM, which produced broad, asymmetrical residual length distributions, with substantial amounts of much longer fibers.
Influence of Injection Molding Parameters on One-Stage Injection Stretch Blow Molding
Meng-Chih Chen, Chih-Lin Hsu, Chao-Tsai Huang, Wen-Hsien Yang, Chia-Hsun Chen, Kun-Chang Lin, May 2007
The advantages of one-stage injection stretch blow molding (ISBM) are energy efficiency and high productivity as reheating is not necessary. However, due to the complexity of operation parameters from raw material through injection molding to the end products, a conventional trial-and-error method is ineffective to predict and control this process. Hence, how to correctly integrate injection and blow molding sequentially is in a great demand. In this study, a comparative investigation between one-stage and two-stage processes is performed firstly. Then in one-stage system, the influence of various operation parameters during the injection stage on product forming is conducted numerically.
Development of New Ionomers with Novel Gas Permeation Properties
John C. Chen, May 2007
Ethylene ionomers, such as Surlyn® from DuPont™, have been the premium sealant materials for packaging applications due to their excellent seal strength and process robustness. The ethylene ionomers achieve the unique property characteristics through the development of a network morphology. In this paper the development of new ethylene ionomers will be discussed. The versatile compositions and the unique morphology of the new ionomers will be presented together with the novel gas permeability properties. Their enhanced breathability to oxygen, carbon dioxide, moisture, etc., selective permeability, and smart barrier properties will be presented.
Improved Properties and Cost Efficiencies of Cyclic Olefin Copolymer Enhanced Forming Films
Paul D. Tatarka, May 2007
Cyclic olefin copolymers (COC) can provide film producers and packaging converters with an opportunity to create thermoforming films. COCs are amorphous thermoplastics with excellent moisture barrier, high temperature stability and stiffness. Mono- and multi-layer examples of LLDPE-based forming films, compared against commercially available products, clearly demonstrate how well the addition of COC improves physical properties, thermoforming and packaging performance. COC improves material distribution of LLDPE formed trays. These improvements enable the formed tray to withstand higher crushing force. Enhanced performance permits possibility of down gauging.
Determination of the Mechanical Properties of a PVC Coated Wire with a New Clamping Fixture for Rotational Rheometers
Jan Philip Plog, Jint Nijman, Klaus Oldörp, May 2007
Car electronic components are potentially subjected to a very wide temperature range compared with electronic components in domestic appliances for example. In (very) cold regions temperatures can get as low a -60 °C and in the engine bay of a car temperatures of 100 °C and higher (near the engine) are easily reached. In cars these extreme temperatures not only put high demands on high tech components like printed circuit boards but also on the electrical wires in wire looms.We have studied the mechanical properties of PVC coated copper wire in a wide temperature range before and after subjecting the wire to an elevated temperature for a certain defined time.
Development of Polycarbonate Diffuser Films for Liquid Crystal Displays
E. Elif Gurel, Phil M. Peters, John Graf, May 2007
In many current Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) systems, it is required to have light diffusing components. Light diffusing components are utilized to improve uniformity in illumination and increase viewing angle. They also serve to mask artifacts. For instance, the films are used to hide injection molded or printed patterns on the light guide pipe of the display or to reduce the appearance of moiré patterns generated by the interference of the LCD pixels with other regular structures within the system. In a typical LCD display, diffusion of light is introduced into the backlight assembly by adding separate films (i.e., a stack) that are comprised of a non-diffusing substrate to which a highly irregular, diffusing surface treatment is applied or attached. In this study, we present GE’s polycarbonate film systems to generate diffuse light in a monolithic film structure utilizing bulk diffusing additives. The relationship between the material properties of the bulk diffuser and the functional properties of the films is discussed.
Photoinitiated Grafting of N-Vinylpyrrolidone onto Poly (Lactic Acid) Film
Mario H. Gutierrez-Villarreal, Mayra G. Ulloa-Hinojosa, Jose P.Gaona-Lozano, May 2007
Polylactic acid (PLA) film with good wettability and versatile reactivity was produced by photoinitiated grafting of N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) onto its surface using benzophenone (BP) as the initiator. The PLA film was melt extruded and a known amount of monomer solution containing the photoinitiator BP was deposited between two films, the assembled unit was irradiated under UV light at room temperature under nitrogen. The surface photografting parameters- grafting percent (Gp) and grafting efficiency (Ge) were obtained. The films resulting from this treatment were analyzed using differential UV spectroscopy, and water contact angle.
Bamboo Fiber Reinforced Eco-Composites by Wetlay Processing
Wei Zhang, Hailing Yang, Ronald D. Moffitt, May 2007
Hammer-mill processed bamboo fibers were used as the reinforcement fiber for an eco-composite made from wetlaid non-woven mats using polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers as the binding fibers. These eco-composites, containing up to 70 wt.% bamboo fibers, were compression molded and tested using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in three-point-bending mode. The thermal behavior of the consolidated PET matrix was analyzed using a DSC. While all composites exhibited very good mechanical properties, the one with 40 wt.% bamboo fibers displayed the highest modulus. The glass transition activation energy calculated from time-temperature superposition suggests that some components from bamboo or moisture lowered the activation energy as the bamboo content increased.
Polyphenylene Ether Macromonomers. I. Property Enhancements in Thermoset Resins via Novel Telechelic Oligomers
Edward N. Peters, Alexey Kruglov, Erik Delsman, Hua Guo, Alvaro Carrillo, Gerardo Rocha, May 2007
Unique low molecular weight polyphenylene ether telechelic copolymers were designed specifically for use in a variety of thermosetting resins. These macromonomers have high solubility in common solvents and monomers and tailored functionality to co-polymerize via step-growth or chain-growth polymerization. The incorporation of these copolymers in epoxy and styrene based thermoset resins results in single-phase thermoset materials with enhanced performance. Noticeably, the glass transition temperature and toughness increase, the dielectric constant and loss factor decrease with increasing PPE content. These new materials thus show a property set very well suited for next generation electronic materials.
Preparation and UV Weathering of Polyethylene Nanocomposites.
S. Sánchez Valdes, M. Luisa López Quintanilla, C. González Cantu, J. Guillermo Martínez Colunga, May 2007
Polyethylene / montmorillonite (PE/MMT) nanocomposites films were prepared by blending in the molten state: Low-density polyethylene (LDPE), montmorillonite clay, and polyethylene grafted maleic anhydride (LDPE-g-MA) or zinc neutralized carboxylate ionomer (Surlyn B) as compatibilizers. A chemically modified clay Closite 20A has been used. Nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending in a twin-screw extruder by using two-step mixing. Characterization of the nanocomposites was performed by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electronic microscope (TEM) techniques. Changes in UV irradiated nanocomposites film samples were characterized by FTIR. The results were analyzed in terms of the effect of the compatibilizing agent in the clay dispersion, and UV degradation of the nanocomposite.
Effects of Melt Rotation on Warpage Phenomena in Injection Molding
Ching-Chang Chien, Yi-Hui Peng, Wen-Li Yang, Rong-Yeu Chang, May 2007
Shear induced imbalanced filling in a geometrically balanced runner system is always a difficult problem to handle in injection molding. Moreover, the shear-induced temperature variation across the cross section also affects the warpage result. Previous research proposed that the melt rotation apparatus could control the warpage phenomena of parts. In this paper, we have proposed a new methodology to analyze this injection process. The comparison between the simulation and experiments can demonstrate and verify the warpage phenomena. The results show that the proposed methodology is a highly valuable tool to understand the melt rotation effects.
Process Time Reduction in Blow Moulding Process with Conformal Cooling
S.H. Masood, V.S. Jeyasingh, May 2007
This paper presents the design and application of novel straight conformal cooling channels in reducing the process time for blow moulding process using the finite element analysis. Different configurations of cooling channels are designed for a blow mould of a plastic motor oil bottle and they are tested by running steady state and transient thermal analysis in Pro/Mechanica Thermal software to predict the cooling time. Results are compared with conventional channels with modified geometry. Results predict that proper layout of cooling channels can reduce the process cycle time by around 44% compared to conventional cooling layout.
Intelligent Quality Prediction in Injection Molding
Chia-Hsiang Hsu, Chuan-Wei Chang, Jyh-Jer Jwo, May 2007
Quality of injection-molded parts is determined by a lot of factors, such as machine, plastic material, operation conditions and others. Normally, using numerical or experimental method to examine and control all parameters is still very difficult. In this study, we proposed a computational intelligence-based method to obtain the optimal process windows systematically. In addition to this, this method can be used as an on-line monitor to predict part quality from process dynamics data. This method combines design of experiment (DOE) and neural network techniques for intelligent quality prediction. This approach is a potential method to improve the molding stability and molded part quality.
Impact Performance of Pe Butt Fusion Welded Joints
Betiana Acha, Valeria Pettarin, Patricia M. Frontini, May 2007
Through this work the rapid crack propagation of PE butt-fusion welded joints was evaluated with impact tests performed on sharp notched specimens at varying temperature and test velocity. The effect of test velocity was studied by means of the impact strength at 20ºC and 1, 2 and 3.7 m/s. The effect of test temperature was assessed at 1 m/s where dynamic effects are small and allow the application of Fracture Mechanics techniques. The Impact Toughness, Jc, was determined in a wide range of temperature (–60 to 20ºC). Complementary, SEM was carried out on fracture surfaces to elucidate the deformation mechanisms acting. It was found that independent of the testing conditions, they were only slightly inhibited in the welded samples suggesting that fracture propagation was practically not affected by the welding procedure.
The Yielding of Propylene Polymers
Laura A. Fasce, Valeria Pettarin, Patricia M. Frontini, Claudia Marano, Marta Rink, May 2007
The use of toughened propylene-based polymers in engineering applications has increased the demand for relevant data regarding yielding behavior in complex stress states. Through this work the yield behavior of polypropylene homopolymer, polypropylene copolymers and polypropylene elastomeric polyethylene mechanical blends was studied. This investigation proves that Modified Von Mises criterion provides reasonable predictions of the biaxial macroscopic yield behavior of these materials despite the inherent tendency of PP to deform by crazing. The incorporation of a second elastomeric-phase by melt blending or increasing crystallinity does not change the pressure dependency of PP polymers. The studied copolymers exhibited a more pronounced yield stress sensitivity to hydrostatic pressure than homopolymers and mechanical blends. Yielding envelopes decrease with increasing elastomer content in mechanical blends and enlarge with increasing crystallinity.
Crystallization Rate of Soft Segment on Shape Memory Effect in Shape Memory Polyurethane Ionomer
Yong Zhu, Jinlian Hu, Ka-fai Choi, Kwok-wing Yeung, May 2007
To illustrate the effect of crystallization rate of soft segment on shape memory effect in shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) ionomer, SMPU ionomers having ionic group within hard segments were synthesized. Isothermal crystallization kinetic method was used to analyze the effect of ionic groups within hard segments on crystallization of soft segment. Thermal cyclic tensile testing was conducted to investigate the shape memory effect. It was found that the ionic group in hard segments slows down crystallization of soft segment; when physical cross link is strong enough, the crystallization rate would be a predominant factor determining the shape fixity ratio after various cooling time; when physical cross link is weakening, the influence of crystallization rate is much less for cooling time dependence of fixity.
Experimental Validation of Numerical Simulation for Phase Decomposition of a Binary Polymer Thin Film on a Patterned Substrate
Yingrui Shang, Ming Wei, David Kazmer, Carol Barry, Joey Mead, May 2007
Phase separation of polymer blends can be directed by the difference of the attraction factors to the polymers on a patterned substrate to achieve polymer self-assembly. A 2D model of the Cahn-Hilliard equation was established using an unconditionally gradient stable time marching scheme. The morphology development in the early stage of the phase separation on a template guided self-assembly was investigated through numerical simulation. Through the numerical investigation, it was observed that the morphology evolution of the polymer blends depended on the consistency of the initial concentration, strength of forcing function, scaling factor, the gradient energy coefficient, and material properties.
Bulk and Nano Mechanical Properties of Surface Modified Polypropylene Films with Acrylic Acid as Grafting Agent
Laura Fasce, María Patricia Suarez, Valeria Pettarin, Patricia Frontini, Vanina Costamagna, Miriam Strumia, May 2007
Polymeric films have become more attractive materials for multipurpose applications. In order to adapt them to several kinds of applications, extra functions keeping their bulk characteristics are desired. Modification of PP films through a grafting technique is considered to be one of the main routes to overcome their limitations avoiding coating delamination and without affecting bulk polymer properties. Through this paper the superficial nano-mechanical properties, bulk mechanical properties, and fracture behavior of surface graft copolymerized with acrylic acid PP films are reported.
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