Summary

Polymeric materials are widely used in a variety of areas including packaging, electronics, automotive, and aerospace industries. For thermoplastic polymers, the molecular architecture, such as molecular weight (MW), molecular weight distribution (MWD), and degree of long chain branching (LCB) has a significant impact on their melt flow behavior. Therefore, it affects melt processing such as extrusion, injection molding, thermoforming, or blow molding. Rheology is a key characterization technique for developing polymeric materials with the desired physical properties and for controlling the manufacturing process to ensure product quality. Rheology is involved in all aspects of polymer processing from resin characterization to the determination of structure and end-use product properties.

This webinar outlines the applications of using different rheological techniques in evaluating the viscosity and viscoelasticity properties of thermoplastic polymers. It is mostly focused on discussing the benefit of using a rotational rheometer to characterize the melt flow behavior of molten polymers. Practical examples are provided and discussed by correlating the rheological testing data to the molecular structure such as MW, MWD, and long chain branching, and how these factors affect their processing performance. In addition, understanding the rheological properties of polymers through laboratory testing can also help to optimize process conditions and end-use products, thereby saving costs and minimizing potential waste.

About the Speaker

Tianhong (Terri) Chen, Ph.D.
Principal Application Scientist
TA Instruments

Dr. Tianhong (Terri) Chen is a principal applications scientist and rheology technical lead at TA Instruments. She received her PhD degree from Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) in China, where she specialized in polymer synthesis and material engineering. She did her post-doc research and later became a research assistant professor at the University of Maryland. During that period, her research was mainly focused on biopolymer modification and characterization. Dr. Chen joined TA Instruments in 2004. Her key responsibilities at TA Instruments are in sales and customer technical support. She teaches different levels of rheology and DMA customer training courses. Dr. Chen has contributed to three technical webinars on the TA Instruments website, which include: adhesive polymers, thermosetting polymers, and polymer sustainability. She also has over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals and 2 US patents.