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

Scale up of Abrasive Wear in Technical Compounding

Gonzalo Marulanda Paz, Brian Fritz, Alan Malott, May 2016

A test was conducted to determine if a modified linear equation introduced in previous work has the capacity to accurately predict extruder screw wear during scale up. The equation significantly reduced the margin of error when compared to linear equations currently utilized in industry. The proposed equation was successfully utilized to extrapolate wear characteristics of a 30 mm tri-kneader from data collected in a 60 mm tri-kneader. The error obtained was found to be less than 45% for this set of tests.
An accelerated wear test proposed on preliminary work was utilized to conduct the experiment in an acceptable timetable. An item of concern was the repeatability of the test in smaller size extruders. The test proved reliable and repeatable. Further development is still necessary to relate the data from the accelerated wear test to that from industrial extruders.

Control of Rheological Resposes under Elongational Flow for Polyolefin Melts

Masayuki Yamaguchi, Jiraporn Seemork, May 2016

Rheological responses under elongational flow play a crucial role in processability of a molten polymer at various processing operations. Therefore, the elongational viscosity has been evaluated. In industry, instead of elongational viscosity, the drawdown force, defined as the force required to stretch a molten polymer, is often evaluated, which is sometimes called melt tension or melt strength. In general, the drawdown force measurement is performed at non-isothermal condition, as similar to actual processing operations. Therefore, crystallization and/or glassification processes affect the value. Here, we proposed several methods to enhance the drawdown force for polyolefins with linear structure, such as isotactic polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), considering the crystallization behavior. The results indicated that the drawdown force increases with the die length in the wide range of draw ratios and shear rates at die. Furthermore, this phenomenon was pronounced for a melt having long relaxation time at low extrusion temperature. The mechanism of the drawdown force enhancement was found to be attributed to rapid crystallization owing to the reduction in the density of entanglement couplings after passing through a long die. In fact, marked molecular orientation was confirmed by 2D-XRD measurements. Furthermore, the drawdown force of PP was enhanced by the addition of a nucleating agent. Blending with other polymeric materials such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) having low viscosity is also effective to enhance the drawdown force.

Process-Integrated Printing Technology for Plastic Parts during Injection Molding

Agnieszka Kalinowska, Michael Gehde, Martin Dehnert, Robert Magerle, May 2016

In-Mold technologies, such as In-Mold Labeling or In-Mold Decoration, have been used for several years for the process integrated decoration of plastic surfaces. The additional handling and transport processes cause consi-derable costs and are a big disadvantage. The new in-mold printing, a process integrated printing technology offers an alternative and enables the decoration of plastic parts during injection molding. Here, the image is pad printed onto the surface of the mold and then transferred to the surface of the plastic part during injection molding. The feasibility of this method is demonstrated on PP and a process related phenomena of the ink transfer and the ink adhesion are identified. The mold temperature is conside-red to be particularly critical. This is due to the fact that the temperature of the ink is affected by the mold tempe-rature and liquid ink is necessary for a transfer of the ink to the polymer surface. In this study the thermal situation at the ink-plastic interface as well as the microscopic structure of the ink-plastic-interface are investigated. The goal of this paper is to show the influence of process para-meters and conditions and their influence on the ink adhe-sion of printed motives.

Environmental Stress Cracking Study of Alternative Welding Processes in Apparatus, Tank and Pipeline Construction

Ronald Dietz, Mirko Albrecht, Eric Brückner, Michael Gehde, May 2016

The infrared (IR) and vibration (VIB) welding processes are joining technologies established in series fabrication. They are characterized by their economically viable and efficient process management. These joining technologies are suitable for utilization in apparatus, tank and pipeline construction. However, they cannot be applied to this field. One reason for this is the lack of knowledge and proof in relation to the Environmental Stress Cracking (ESC). Within the framework of a research project promoted by AiF (Allianz industrieller Forschung), the vibration and infrared welding processes were investigated. Their potential for long-term applications was studied. The results show that minimum tensile creep welding factors of 0.8 are achieved by using the infrared (short-wave radiation emitter) and vibration welding processes. It was possible to obtain values which correspond to those of heated tool butt welding. Furthermore, the knowledge base of the mechanism of failure behavior of welded joints between plastics undergoing ESC was extended.

Effects of Clay Loading and Gascounter-Pressure on the Tensile/Foaming/Surface Roughness Properties of Microcellular Injection Molded PP/Claynano Composites

Shyh-shin Hwang, Jui-Pin Yang, Ching-hsin Hu, Peiming Hsu, May 2016

This study investigated the effects of the clay loading and gas counter-pressure technique (GCP) on the tensile/foaming/surface roughness properties of microcellular injection molded Polypropylene (PP)/clay nanocomposites. In the gas counter-pressure technique, nitrogen fills up the cavity during the injection molding process. This can delay the foaming process and affect the microcellular injection molding process. The results showed that the tensile strength decreases with the counter pressure and increases as holding time is increased, while the flow length decreases as the holding time increases. The cell size decreases as the holding time increases.

Advances in Adhesive Technology for Bonding Liquid Silicone Rubbers to Plastics and Metals

Paul A. Wheeler, Tarek A. Agag, Brian P. Carney, Rebecca S. Cowles, Douglas H. Mowrey, May 2016

LORD Corporation offers new adhesive solutions that effectively bond platinum-cured liquid silicone rubber (LSR) to various substrates directly in an injection or compression molding process. This technology does not require plasma treatment or other complicated and costly surface preparation steps. In this study, three new adhesive systems were tested to bond LSR to various substrates, including polycarbonate, thermoplastic elastomer, polyamide, and stainless steel. Parts were molded and peel tested. This process and product technology offers a number of benefits compared to existing technology, including enhanced design freedom, more robust processing, less surface preparation requirements, and environmental friendliness.

Impact of Processing Method and Loading of Active scavenger (Linoleic Acid) on Properties of Polyethylene Terephthalate

Michael Angelo Miranda, Maria Coleman, Saleh Jabarin, May 2016

The food and packaging industries are interested in approaches to reduce the permeability of oxygen in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to extend the shelf-life of product. Shelf life of a product can be increased using various approaches, including reduction of oxygen permeation through packaging wall. The food and packaging industries are interested in approaches to reduce the permeability of oxygen in polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This has led to considerable research in barrier improvement including the use of active scavenger that permanently bind oxygen. This paper focus on comparison of two methods in incorporates a renewably sourced active scavenger within PET. Specifically, single screw and twin screw extruders were used to blend linoleic acid with PET to form films and pellets at loading up to 2 %. End group of PET/linoleic acid system produced using single screws extrude shows an increase in carboxylic acid end groups which is consist blends of linoleic acid. The twin screw product shows a reduction in hydroxyl end group which indicates that reactive extrusion has taken place. The presence of linoleic acid within PET was confirmed by NMR. Linoleic acid has a plasticizing effect which results in lowering of glass transition temperatures and crystallization temperature which is more pronounced when single screw extruder was to produce films. This work is geared towards the measuring oxygen permeability of the films produced by both methods.

Development of a Predictive Power Law Relationship for Concentrated Slurries, Part 1: Theory

Gregory A. Campbell, Michael E. Zak, Jayaprakash. S. Radhakrishnan, Mark D. Wetzel, May 2016

All polymer slurries that have a high concentration of filler are shear thinning. This can include the starting materials for sheet molding compound, polymer based inks, many reactive extrusions systems, and polymer concentrates that are let down in extrusion systems as color concentrates or opacifiers. Several sizes of calcium carbonate were initially investigated because of their extensive use in the polymer industry as fillers. The investigation focused on developing an analytical tool that would lead to understanding and the prediction of the flow characteristics of slurries that have a Newtonian continuous phase but have high enough filler concentration to exhibit shear thinning or power law characteristics. This work’s focuses on concentrations where the initial yield behavior is not dominant A new function was found that linearly correlates the power law constant, n, to the concentration of the filler. The behavior of this function suggests that the Newtonian to Power-law behavior may be dominated by percolation processes. We present here a theory that predicts the characteristic of the power law constant, n, as a function of filler concentration and is based on observing and modeling the well-known plug formation in the center of a tube as the material flows down the tube. The plug was experimentally shown to be a non-dissipating volume in the flowing slurry. This percolation based rheological analysis was then extended to a highly filled Polyethylene resin.

The Incumbent Resin Effect for the Single-Screw Extrusion of Polyethylene Resins

Mark A. Spalding, Qian Gou, Xiaofei Sun, Qing Shi, May 2016

Innovative polyethylene (PE) films are constantly being developed by switching the existing or incumbent resin with a new or challenger resin. If the extrusion equipment is designed properly, the film with the challenger resin will be acceptable for further testing and marketing. However, if the extrusion equipment is not designed properly, old degraded material from the incumbent resin will be pushed out of the extruder by the challenger resin, contaminating the test film. In many cases, the challenger resin incorrectly receives the blame for the gels. This paper describes the incumbent effect, presents a case study, and provides technical solutions.

Bioepoxy Foaming Using Polymethylhydrosiloxane

Nathaniel Brown, May 2016

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards mandate that cars and light trucks have a fuel economy of at least 54.5 MPG by 2025 in an effort to eliminate 6 billion tons of cumulative CO2 emissions. This directive has spurred the automotive industry to focus on a variety of options. Among these are lightweight structural polymeric foams, which offer tailor-made solutions for significant weight reduction while not compromising on safety. However, most structural foams are petroleumbased, thereby contributing to the depletion of nonrenewable petroleum resources. Biopolymers, such as those from non-food based sources, offer a more environmentally-responsible alternative.
In this study, the effect of polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS) as a foaming agent on the properties of pine oilbased epoxy was investigated. The resulting materials were then tested for their compression properties, density, and microstructure. Lightweighting of up to 77 % was obtained and the delayed addition of foaming agent was shown to be more effective at improving specific mechanical properties, relative to immediate addition of foaming agent.

Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Epoxidized Pine Oil and Acrylated Epoxidized Soybean Oil Blends

Mario Krussig, May 2016

Synthetic polymers derived from crude oil are widely used across various industries. However, increased environmental regulations tackling climate change have spurred interest in development of bio-sourced polymers. While promoting the cause of sustainability, biopolymers also possess inferior mechanical properties, limiting their widespread use. A plausible and cost-effective way of enhancing the properties of pure biopolymers is to blend them with other polymers and/or reinforce them with stiff fibers. This study investigates the thermophysical properties of bio-based thermoset blends of epoxidized pine oil (EPO) and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO). The blends were prepared via casting in five different ratios by volume (EPO/AESO): 100/0, 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, and 0/100. Mechanical properties of blends were studied via tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy, while chemical properties were analyzed using thermo-gravimetric analysis.

Production of Controlled Rheology Polypropylenes from Metallocene and Ziegler-Natta Resins

Shouliang Nie, Costas Tzoganakis, May 2016

Peroxide induced controlled degradation of polypropylene has been well studied for commodity Ziegler-Natta based polypropylene (ZN-PP) resins and it is practiced industrially for producing resins of controlled rheological properties with accompanying narrower molecular weight distribution (MWD). In the present work, this technique was also tested on metallocene-based polypropylenes (mPP), possessing an initial narrow MWD. Kinetic model simulation results indicate that the polydispersity index (PDI) of the mPP remains almost unchanged while reducing molecular weight (MW) with increased peroxide concentration. Based on this observation, experiments were carried out to demonstrate the possibility of producing controlled rheology polypropylenes (CRPP) having targeted weight-average MW but varying PDI from different commodity resins of mPP or ZN-PP type.

Study of the Preparation and Superiority Properties of the Novel Propylene-Based Elastic HMAs

Chang Hefei, Ma Yi, Liang Wenbin, May 2016

The novel propylene-based elastic hot melt adhesives (HMAs) with improved adhesive and elasticity were first reported and prepared by styrene-assisted melt free-radical grafting of maleic anhydride. The changes in chemical composition, thermal property, melt viscosity, and adhesive performance were measured by FTIR, GPC, TREF, rheology, TEM, melt flow indexer, and Intron universal testing machine, respectively. Compared to the commercial HMAs, the propylene-based elastic HMAs with special continuous phase distribution exhibited 20% increasing in peel strength, and doubled 100% tensile deformation recovery rate, which achieved a consistent of high degree of adhesion and elasticity. Meanwhile, the weather resistance test results also indicated that the propylene-based elastic HMAs had excellent resistance with high and low temperature shock, which alleviated the interface delamination caused by the different thermal shrinkage between the steel interface and plastic interface, further benefitting and extending the service life of steel composite pipe.

The Potental of Expanding Elongation Flows to Increase the Through-Plane Thermal Conductivity

Otto Skrabala, Christian Bonten, May 2016

Thermal conductive plastics are often used in electronical components for heat management or in heat exchangers. Often heat has to be conducted in thickness direction of a thermal conductive part (through-plane). Yet, conventional plastics processing techniques like injection molding or extrusion yield lower thermal conductivity in thickness direction, especially for thin parts. Therefore, a new method is presented, which significantly increases the through-plane thermal conductivity using expanding elongation flows. Medium expansion ratios of 4 to 5 already achieve high

An Effective Way of Processing Immiscible PP/PS Blends into High Strength Fiber

Jing Shi, Xudong Fang, Adam Maffe, Donggang Yao, May 2016

A new method for processing high strength fiber from immiscible PP/PS blends was developed. In contrast to conventional melt spinning with high jet stretch, the new method adopts a low jet stretch ratio and a subsequent hot drawing step above the Tg of PS for making a blend fiber with a highly oriented PP phase. Initial results demonstrated that 70/30 PP/PS blend fibers processed by zero jet stretch and 8X hot drawing at 100°C can achieve a tensile strength above 300 MPa, 6 times higher than that of corresponding blend fibers produced by conventional high jet stretch. This process also provides a new route for recycling immiscible polymer waste mixtures and may have a high potential for industrial applications. By making immiscible polymer blends recyclable, this method can lead to improved design flexibility for system integration and achieving multi-functional products.

Polyethylene Pipe Performance – Observations and Insights from Experimental Investigations

Ashish M. Sukhadia, Mark J. Lamborn, Pamela L. Maeger, May 2016

Over the past number of years, we have conducted extensive investigations of the Rapid Crack Propagation (RCP) behavior of Polyethylene (PE) pipes. In this paper, we report on our findings on the relationship between the Small-Scale Steady State (S4) RCP test and the Full-Scale RCP test. We also report on the behavior of three different PE resins by generating the more extensive critical temperature – critical pressure maps (“failure envelopes”), which provide a more comprehensive view of the RCP behavior of PE. Next, using data generated in our laboratory, we report on a new observation relating critical temperature and critical pressure. Lastly, we report on the effects of extrusion rates and conditions on RCP performance. These results, taken together, allow us to make some interesting observations and offer newer insights about the RCP behavior of PE resins and pipes.

Development of a New Styrenic Elastomer Using Renewable Monomer

Nobuhiro Moriguchi, Kei Hirata, Hiromitsu Sasaki, Yosuke Uehara, Hoan Tran, Brian Chapman, Jason Voogt, May 2016

Utilizing a new renewable monomer called B-farnesene, Kuraray has developed a new hydrogenated styrene farnesene copolymer (HSFC) with unique chemical structure and differentiated properties. B-farnesene is produced from the fermentation of sugar extracted from sugarcane and is based on an innovative microbial engineering technology from Amyris. When B-farnesene is polymerized using anionic polymerization method, polymerization proceeds with conjugated diene moiety and poly-B-farnesene possesses a highly condensed, long alkyl side chain. This unique chemical structure results in differentiated features that conventional hydrogenated styrenic block copolymers (HSBC) do not have. In comparison to HSBC, HSFC exhibits higher flow ability, good adhesion, lower hardness without plasticizer, good permanent and compression set, and improved damping properties over a wide temperature range. With this property set, HSFC lends itself to applications such as adhesives, gels, low hardness compounds, and nonwovens. It is expected that HSFC will continue to expand and produce new market value to meet developing customer needs.

Rubber Toughened Polylactide (PLA) via Catalyzed Epoxy-Acid Interfacial Reaction

Christopher Thurber, Liangliang Gu, Jason C. Myers, Timothy P. Lodge, Christopher W. Macosko, May 2016

Polylactide (PLA) is a promising material, with favorable modulus, renewable sources, and biodegradability. However, its low extension at break (4-7 %) and toughness (notched Izod, 26 J/m) limit its applications [1]. PLA toughening has been the subject of recent reviews [1,2], and is the basis for several commercial products. This work aims to increase PLA toughness using rubbery linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), glycidyl methacrylate functional PE compatibilizer (EGMA), and novel catalysts that promote copolymer formation at the interface of immiscible blends of PLA and EGMA/LLDPE. Droplet size was reduced from 2.7 ?m to 1.7 ?m with addition of 5 wt% EGMA, and further to 1.0 ?m with the addition of cobalt octoate catalyst. Extension at break of 200 % is achieved with only 5 wt% reactive compatibilizer, 15 wt% LLDPE, and 0.01 M cobalt octoate.

Failure Analysis of a Plastic Toy Helicopter

Dale B. Edwards, Dennis B. Brickman, Charles A. Fox, Rodney A. Brewster, May 2016

A failure analysis was performed on a plastic toy helicopter that exhibited several fractures of both the rotor blades and the rotor hub sections. Fractography and flight testing were utilized to determine whether or not the toy helicopter fractures were due to operation and flight of the helicopter or due to other causes. The multiple fractures were found to be inconsistent with normal operation and flight of the helicopter and the analysis showed that the fractures were likely due to manual manipulation of the rotor blades and hub sections prior to use of the helicopter.

Morphology and Strength of Die-Drawn Porous Sheets from Highly Filled Polypropylenes

Xinting Lin, Krishnamurthy Jayaraman, May 2016

Highly oriented porous sheets can be produced from solid phase die drawing of polymer composites below the melting temperature. Talc filled polypropylenes with two different grades of talc having different particle size distributions and different mean particle sizes at the same filler loading of 50 wt% or 23 vol% were drawn in the solid phase through a converging die at 128°C. The highest draw speed that could be achieved at 128?C for the composite with the lower mean particle size was twice the maximum speed that could be achieved with the other composite. The higher maximum draw speed for the composite with a greater fraction of smaller particles may be attributed to greater tensile strength during drawing from the reinforcement provided by the undebonded particles.