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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In today's lean corporate environment, businesses must focus each dollar spent on creating maximum impact and return in the marketplace. Effective allocation of funds, without costly marketing blunders, is essential to the growth of a company. This presentation will expose six of the most commonly held marketing misconceptions, and offer insight into effective marketing. Directed toward sales engineers, engineering managers, general managers and sales and marketing personnel, smart strategic marketing strategies and tactics will be discussed to give you and your company a competitive advantage.
Agnieszka Habel, Gonzalo Martinez, Witold Brostow, May 2002
Pressure-volume-temperature (PVT) relationships in polymer solids are used in prediction of long-term performance from short-term tests. We use a technique such that the sample is under hydrostatic mercury pressure, so that solid and molten states are studied in one experiment (isothermal varying P stepwise or isobaric varying T stepwise). The results are represented by the Hartmann equation of state in terms of its characteristic parameters T*, P* and v*. The last one can be used to calculate the free volume by a simple subtraction. We shall try to connect the Hartmann parameters of selected polymers not only to mechanical but also to tribological properties.
There is a need for a size compensating bone cast. When an injury occurs, and a bone is broken, the area around the injury swells. A cast is applied to the arm to prohibit movement. Over time, as swelling decreases, another cast must be sculpted to the reduced size of the arm. Through research of material properties and characteristics, a foaming material has been found that will aid in creating a one-time application cast. Some advantages of this material are: flexibility, expandability, and the ability to create pressure points, however, cost efficiency, safety, and ability to hold a constant pressure must be determined. This research charts the development of such a product.
Shia-Chung Chen, Ming-Shiu Chung, Hsin-Shu Peng, Lei-Ti Huang, May 2002
Sequential injection molding using valve-gate controlled hot runner system has attracted attentions for industrial applications in recent years. Due to the complication in operation mechanisms, commercial valve gate usually delays for about 0.3 to 0.5 seconds once the valve-opening command is given. This signal to operation delay is acceptable for conventional injection molding of large parts. However, it becomes critical for 3C thin-wall molding application where the required filling time is short. In this study, a gas-driven valve gate control system was established. Valve-gate opening monitoring system using both CCD camera and cavity pressure transducers was also constructed. All design parameters including gas-valve response characteristics, tolerance between inner piston and cylinder, gas pressure, melt temperature, etc., that would affect valve-gate opening were investigated. The delay time for vale-gate shaft movement in a non-melt environment can be reduced to about 50 mini-seconds whereas it increases to about 80 mini-seconds in a melt-filled environment.
Rodrigo A. Silva, Carla C. Pombo, Anunciata Conte, Maria de Fátima V. Marques, May 2002
In this work metallocene polyethylene was obtained through catalysts comprising of Cp2ZrCl2 supported on silica/methylaluminoxane (MAO) prepared with different methods. The metallocene complex was directly immobilized on the support surface or on the support pretreated with MAO. The results showed that, at the supported catalyst preparation conditions employed in this work, the pretreatment with MAO did not enhance the activity for ethylene polymerization. Moreover the average molecular weight of the polyethylene obtained with the supported catalysts were higher than those obtained with the homogeneous precursor. Morphological control of polymer particle produced with the supported systems was also observed.
Anunciata Conte, Maria de Fátima V. Marques, May 2002
Biscyclopentadienyl zirconium dichloride and methylaluminoxane (MAO) complex catalytic solution was used in ethylene-propylene (E-P) copolymerization. Reaction temperature and time were varied in order to find the relationship among the polymerization activities, average molecular weight (Mw), polydispersity (MWD) and thermal behavior of the copolymers. The parameters evaluated influenced on the catalytic performance in such a way that E-P copolymers with different polydispersities are obtained just by changing the concentration of the comonomers dissolved in the reaction medium. Also, it was observed that, in the range studied, the increase of the reaction temperature contributed to the decrease in the catalytic activity.
P.S. Allan, B.A. McCalla, Y. Mubarak, D. Mulligan, May 2002
The control and management of heat in the mould tool is vital for obtaining the optimum production processing conditions in injection moulding. Work at the Wolfson Centre, Brunel University is evaluating the conventional mould cooling methods and also a technique called Pulse Cooling Technology". A special instrumented mould tool was designed for the project and this will be described in the text. The tool has a number of features that represent some common moulding features and it also has pieces that can be subjected to standard mechanical testing procedures. Data from the moulding runs will be compared with high-pressure thermal conductivity and pVT measurements. Finally a comparison will be made between the two mould cooling methods."
F. Gribben, G.M. McNally, W.R. Murphy, T. McNally, May 2002
Block copolymers based on Poly (ester-ether) block structure were in part tested to SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) J2027 as to their suitability for use in automotive fluid handling applications. Six block copolymers of varying microstructure (that is hard-soft segment ratio) were injection moulded into ASTM test specimens and immersed in five standard automotive test fluids; Aggressive Water, Fuel C, Transmission Oil, Ethylene Glycol, and Zinc Chloride solution. Deterioration in tensile strength, tensile and flexural modulus of up to 15% for the block copolymers was observed after immersion in all test fluids except Fuel C where the reduction in mechanical properties was as high as 50% when compared to the neat dry polymers. Similar but less dramatic behaviour was also seen for the elongation at break measurements. The loss in impact strength on immersion in the test fluids was small, the greatest loss was seen for the softer grades of block copolymer. The degradation of mechanical properties is correlated with the ratios of hard to soft segments in the block copolymers studied.
Reza Sadeghi, Hua Cai, Chris La Tulippe, Ryszard Brzoskowski, Edwin Currie, May 2002
The sliding friction of TPV strips co-extruded with a thin layer of slip coat material was measured at different temperatures. These strips were used to predict the performance of the slip coatings in automotive weatherstrip applications. The static and kinetic coefficients of frictions were the parameters of interest, and their variation with temperature and composition. Abrasion resistance and some other physical properties were also tested. Five slip coat materials available from different suppliers were evaluated. Slip coat materials from Tokiwa and DSM gave the best balance of coefficient of friction, abrasion resistance and stiffness.
Izod and tensile testing has been used as a way to evaluate toughness in crystalline thermoplastics like Delrin®. As with many other ways to evaluate polymer properties, reproducibility is sensitive to sample handling, technique, and mechanical factors, as well as the variation in the polymer samples. The Delrin® 500 specimens were evaluated as-molded and then after various treatments. The treatments included exposure to varying nitric acid concentrations through smears on the samples or through complete sample submersion in acid. Reground sample blends were subjected to nitric acid smears while strained. These specimens were held under a 0.5% constant strain with nitric acid exposure for limited time. The Property Retention Index (PRI) format was used to compare the as-molded results to the after treatment results. The PRI was 0.70 for weight loss after submersion in 4.25% nitric acid after 312 hours of exposure. The PRI for the Izod impact was reduced to 0.21 in 4.25% nitric acid after 312 hours of exposure. The PRI never fell below 0.97 for the tensile specimens molded out of regrind. The observed trend in the tensile value is not a simple linear decrease with increasing regrind weight percent.
The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) specimens were evaluated as molded and after various treatments. The PET polymers are known to undergo hydrolysis and thought to be sensitive to exposure to acid. The molded specimens were exposed to various chemicals including hydrocarbons, oils and greases and solutions of nitric acid. Chemicals were selected because of an opportunity for them to contact PET parts during assembly or as used in our applications. The molded samples were subjected to exposure for different periods. Exposure effects were monitored using the tensile strength at break data. The comparison of tensile strengths at break was done by using the Property Retention Index (PRI) per ASTM D 5870-95. Materials included: black DuPont™ Rynite® SST 35, black and grey DuPont™ Rynite® 545, and Ticona Celstran® PET GF20-02.
P.H.M. Elemans, P. Bleiman, J. Blanchard, May 2002
A method is proposed to evaluate the melting performance of a corotating twin-screw extruder. The method involves model experiments whereby the polymer pellets (coated with blue pigment powder) are extruded using a screw configuration that only contains the functional zone (melting zone, kneading section) placed at the down-stream end of the screw. The polymer can flow out almost unrestricted through a large die opening. The extrudate contains a mixture of unmelted pellets in a colored melt: as soon as the polymer starts to melt, it turns blue; the polymer pellets that do not melt remain opaque. The extrudate is chopped off into samples that are cooled down and cut into thin slices, from which the unmelted fraction of polymer can be determined using image analysis. The data serve as a basis for the evaluation of the melting performance of a particular screw configuration.
Historically, 95%+ of high speed twin screw extruders have been used to perform compounding, devolatilization and reactive extrusion operations with the end product being pellets, where dimensional stability is secondary to the mass transfer operations that occur in the twin screw extruder. Although high speed twin screw extruders have been used for many years to extrude products such as sheet, film, profile or fibers, it is only in the past 5 to 10 years that there has been a concerted development effort to perform direct extrusion from this device. The initial applications that utilized twin screw technology for direct extrusion, versus purchasing a pre-compounded material from a toll compounder for processing on a single screw extruder, were mandated, in desperation, for formulations that were adversely affected by the second heat and shear history inherent with the single screw extrusion step. Once the technical viability of direct extrusion was demonstrated, it became readily apparent to the marketplace that substantial cost savings were also possible using this technology. Additional benefits include the ability to adjust formulations in-line to accelerate development efforts, and to maintain a proprietary in-house manufacturing process. Some of the materials that have benefitted from direct extrusion include, but are not limited to, filled olefins, TPE/TPO/TPV’s, polyesters, PVB, woodfiber composites, adhesives, foamed polymers, nylons and degradable plastics.
Kyung Hyun Ahn, Do Hoon Kim, Jun Uk Park, Jungsook Hong, Seung Jong Lee, May 2002
Polypropylene (PP) is known to form an exfoliated structure only when maleic anhydride functionalized polypropylene (MAPP) is added together. This can be easily achieved by melt processing, however, MAPP costs a lot as to prevent its commercial production.In this talk, we will present a novel approach to make exfoliated PP/clay nanocomposites without adding MAPP. PP/clay systems under large electric field do show the exfoliated structure, which is evidenced by rheometer and XRD. As applying electric field is a physical process, similar effect can be expected in other polymer systems that do not show exfoliated structure in a normal condition.
Chung P. Park, Gerald A. Garcia, Roby G. Watson, May 2002
A resilient foam that is both expandable and moldable was prepared from an amorphous polyester resin using a mixed blowing agent of a high-solubility compound and a low-permeability compound. The high-solubility compound permits a high degree of expansion, while the low-permeability compound renders secondary expandability. The polyester foam remedies the deficiencies of existing bead products. Polystyrene beads retain blowing agents but lack resilience. Polyolefin beads are resilient but do not retain blowing agent. The polyester foam board has a low thermal conductivity as well as excellent dynamic cushioning.
Askwini Kumar, Aleksandra Egelja, Eric W. Grald, John P. Beaumont, May 2002
The flow of molten polymer in a multi-cavity injection mold is a complex fluid dynamics problem involving temperature- and shear-dependent viscosity and viscous heating. Recent work has shown that cavities are not filled evenly, even in a geometrically balanced runner. We investigated this phenomenon for two polymers (Nylon 6/6 and Acrylic) using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program FIDAP (Fluent Inc., Lebanon, NH), and compared the results with experimental measurements in a test mold. The results from the CFD model successfully capture the flow imbalance in the runner system for these polymers. The validated flow model can thus be used as a predictive tool to quickly evaluate the new runner system designs.
The experimental test results on the composite strengthened reinforced concrete beams showed that the failure of composite-concrete interface can originate from an existing concrete tensile crack at the interface. Due to the difference in the properties of the individual materials and due to practical conditions of loading, cracking of the composite-concrete interface involves mixed-mode of fracture effects. Fracture mechanics concept was used to design special types of sandwich specimen, in which a thin layer of composite is sandwiched between two parts of concrete. It is shown that the interface toughness as well as interface failure mode depend on composite type and combination of loading conditions.
David Grewell, Karl Graff, Avraham Benatar, May 2002
This paper reviews the evaluation of different techniques used to characterize the power output of high power ultrasonic transducers. Three laboratory measurement techniques were studied: 1) electrical, 2) calorimetric and 3) mechanical transmission line. The loads were theoretically modeled and their thermal, mechanical, and electrical losses were identified. It was found that the most accurate power measurement was based on multiplication of the measured voltage and current without the use of filters or methods that attempt to differentiate between stored and dissipated energy.
Gregory A. Campbell, Jason C. Baird, Lonnie Gilette, Matt Bullwinkel, Jennifer Stowe, May 2002
In this paper we will discuss the construction of a new experimental device to evaluate the solids conveying parameters for a single screw extruder. We will describe the device, which works for high modulus polymers, and we will compare the difference of temperature rise and heat flux for polystyrene and polyethylene when extruded under similar conditions. For these two polymers, the effect of retarding pressure on the solid bed regarding output and barrel forces will also be investigated.
Chris Cooper, Jeff Kampian, Jesse McCanna, Rainer Protte, May 2002
Gas-assist injection molding allows designers the freedom to design plastic products that may be considered outside the realm of conventional injection molding. There are basically two design categories for the gas-assist injection molding technique: rod-shaped parts and panel-shaped parts. Rod-shaped parts have very thick cross-sections and include articles such as handles, armrests and structural components. Panel-shaped parts are large area moldings that utilize ribs with gas channels to improve part stiffness; automotive trim and business machine housings are in this category. This paper studies the residual wall thickness (RWT) of rod-shaped parts and gloss level variations of panel-shaped parts.
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.
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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.
