SNEAK PREVIEW ANTEC® WORKSHOP WEBINAR: Troubleshooting: Everyone's Problem — How to Address Plastic Product Issues From the Perspective of the Product Owner

Christian Hopmann, Ph.D.
Institute Director, Chair for Plastics Processing
IKV - RWTH Aachen University

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Abstract

Outline

Introduction
Production, usage and lifetime of plastics by industry sector
Circular Economy
The reality 2018: global plastics flow
Options for plastics waste utilization
Key action areas for sustainable use of plastics
Ingredients of a nominal PE-LD recyclate
Recycled material based on post-consumer packaging waste
Value chain of packaging products
DPP – Digital Product Passport
Information exchange concept
Scaling to industrial level
AI based process model based on synthetic data
Digitalization as enabler for robust and sustainable production
Holistic approach towards a circular plastics packaging economy
Conclusion and Outlook

Montgomery T. Shaw Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Connecticut
(a)Professional Preparation

Cornell University, Chemical Engineering, B.Ch.E., June 1966; M. S., June 1966
Princeton University, Chemistry, M. A., June 1968
Princeton University, Chemistry; Ph.D., August 1970

(b)Appointments

Emeritus Professor, June 2009 — present
Interim Dept. Head, Chemical, Materials and Biomolecular Engr., July 2007 — June 2008
T. DiBenedetto Distinguished Engineering Professor, October 2002 — June 2009
Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, August 1983 — June 2009
Visiting Scientist, DuPont Experimental Station, Wilmington DE, August 1991 — June 1992
Sabbatical Professor, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, July 1983 — June 1984
Associate Professor, University of Connecticut, January 1977 — July 1983
Research and Development Staff, Union Carbide Corporation, Bound Brook, NJ, August 1970 — December 1976

(c)Research Interests/Accomplishments

Robert Setter studied mechanical engineering at Technical University of Munich with majors in aerospace, light weight design and carbon fiber reinforced plastics. In 2017, he worked for 10 months as a visiting scholar in the field of resin-based additive manufacturing at the Polymer Engineering Center by Prof. Tim A. Osswald at the University of Wisconsin. In 2019, he wrote his master's thesis at BMW about additively manufactured injection molding polymer tools. Since March 2020, he is a research associate at the Professorship of Laser-based Additive Manufacturing by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Wudy at Technical University of Munich. He currently works in the field of innovative polymer-based additive manufacturing processes with a focus on powder- and resin-based technologies. This includes the conceptualization and development of new processes as well as the experimental analysis and characterization of polymer-based materials and additively manufactured parts.

Vitus Zenz
Ph.D. Student
Rosenheim Technical University

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Abstract

One major problem of a continuous process like plastic extrusion is their incapability to deal with non-local gas pressure. This is an inherent problem because a continuous process's two "open ends" where pressure can escape. In this study a novel feeding system was developed to enable granulate feeding into gas pressurized processes inside a single- or twin-screw extruder. With this apparatus gas pressure can be applied inside the extrusion process. The apparatus separates the pressurized extruder from the dosing equipment that feeds the extruder. It keeps the pressure inside the system while continuously feeding new material into the process. The proposed prototype was designed around a square casing with two different sized holes perpendicular to each other. This creates a cross section in the middle which acts as a valve. On top is the inlet port and on the opposite site the outlet port. Both are radial sealing parts that adapt the curvature of the perpendicular hole. A crucial component of the prototype is the three-dimensional sealing that separates the two atmospheres. It had to be abrasion resistant as well as flexible enough to be installed at a curved contour. These requirements made it difficult to use traditional seals. Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a polymer that is highly abrasion resistant and used in high pressure environments. It was used for this special three-dimensional seals to separate the two pressure atmospheres. Another challenge was the big difference in pressure, which led to a sudden pressurization of the feeding container. This meant that all granulate inside this container got scattered from the incoming pressure flow. Since the granulates are scattered, they could not fall down into the extruder. These problems were solved adding ventilation adapters for pressurizing and depressurizing. The first small-scale Prototype was made from aluminum and designed to be connected to pressured nitrogen. Due to the size of the prototype, it will be able to handle small amounts of granulates of around 10-20 kg/h. An applied gas pressure of 7 bar was achieved, with current optimization towards 15-20 bar. Following prototypes will be made of stainless steel demonstrate higher material throughput as an important next step in optimizing the feeding system. Main applications for this new feeding equipment could be foaming processes and reactive extrusion systems. In foaming applications, blowing agents could be injected earlier since the gas cannot escape at the feeding port. Compared to state-of the art processes where blowing agent is injected just before the die, inside of the polymer, the new feeding system could save valuable processing time and increase the overall throughput of the machine. Another application of the new feeding system could be reactive extrusion systems. Normal atmosphere contains about 5 % oxygen which can react with products inside the extruder. Nitrogen is often used for inert pressure atmospheres to carry out chemical reactions inside the extruder. It keeps oxygen in the air from interacting with the reactants and hinders side-reactions. The two very different atmospheres must be separated during the process. With this new feeding system, nitrogen or other gases could be applied to high pressures, supporting different reactive extrusion techniques. The developed equipment is easy to use and only requires a single motor to control. It also can be integrated into the control unit of the extruder for synchronization of the feeding mechanism. In summary, the new feeding system enables gas pressure inside a single- or twin-screw extruder while maintaining continuous granulate feeding.

About the Presenter

In 2016, I started as a student in plastics engineering at Technical University of Rosenheim. In my practical semester, I conducted an internship at the New Zealand based research institute Scion in 2019, and gained knowledge in reactive extrusion technology during the time. After that, I was involved in the development of pressurized reactive extrusion experiments and similar research topics. After my Bachelor of Engineering, I entered the master program "Applied research and development" at the Technical University of Rosenheim and finished the program with a Master of Science in 2021. Currently, I am pursuing my PhD in processing of wooden particles inside a twin-screw extruder at the Technical University of Berlin.

Dr. Anson Ma is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and Polymer at the University of Connecticut (UConn). His research group focuses on understanding and advancing 3D printing technologies. Dr. Ma currently serves as the UConn Site Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) SHAP3D Center for additive manufacturing and the United Technologies Corporation (UTC) Professor in Engineering Innovation. He has received several awards, including Distinguished Young Rheologist Award from TA Instruments, NSF CAREER award, Arthur B. Metzner Early Career award from the Society of Rheology, 3M Non-Tenured Faculty Award, Early Career Award from the American Association of University Professors (AAUP)-UConn Chapter, UConn Polymer Program Director's Award for Faculty Excellence, and U.S. Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship.

Professor Sadhan C. Jana is currently the B.F. Goodrich Endowed Chair and Professor of School of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering and Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies of College of Engineering and Polymer Science at The University of Akron. He is a chemical engineer by training with a Ph.D. degree from Northwestern University. Dr. Jana received National Science Foundation Faculty Early CAREER Award, Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Fred E. Schwab Award for outstanding achievements in education, George Stafford Whitby Award for distinguished research and education from the American Chemical Society Rubber Division, SR Palit Memorial Lectureship award from Society of Polymer Science India, Kamath Memorial Lectureship award from the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Honorary Professorship from National University of Colombia, Bogota. He is a Fellow and Honored Service Member of SPE and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Polymer Engineering & Science Journal and Executive Editor of all SPE journals - Polymer Engineering & Science, Polymer Composites, Journal of Vinyl and Additive Technology, and SPE Polymers journals.

Dr. Mubashir Q. Ansari is currently an Associate Research Scientist at The Dow Chemical Company, where he leads an injection molding facility, partnering with various Dow businesses selling products into rigid packaging applications. His research interests include capability development, product development, and supporting automation and data integration developments that advance digitalization (i.e., "big data") of polymer processing workflows. His interests span virgin resin development for monomaterial packaging, sustainable additives, post-consumer recycled resins, and thermoplastic formulation development for electric vehicles. He received his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, where he worked in Prof. Donald Baird's research group. While there, his research was focused on generating patented composite filaments for 3D Printing Applications. Dr. Ansari received his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from IIT (BHU) Varanasi, after which he worked as a Process Engineer in a petroleum refinery. Dr. Ansari's work at Dow has included technical developments that have aided in the commercialization of five products. He is proud to be part of the team that worked on Dow's first post-consumer recycled resin product, AGILITYTM. Dr. Ansari has one granted patent, one patent application, and 11 peer reviewed papers (conference and journal) to his credit. He is a member of ad-hoc committee on Society of Rheology's future conferences and board member of Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Thermoplastic Elastomers' Special Interest Group. He was recently recognized as 2022 Rising Star by PlasticsNews, a recognition given to under 35-year-old leaders in the plastics industry or those who are on track to become one.

Eric Andrews
Technical Services Manager
Colour Synthesis Solutions

Abstract

Though (EU) No 2020/1245 — the so-called, "15th Amendment" to (EU) No 10/2011 (The Regulation) — officially entered into force in September of 2020, it was written to allow two years for business operators to exhaust their stocks of materials which had already been declared to be in compliance with The Regulation prior to the 15th Amendment. Between this grace period and the official date of publication, the 15th Amendment shall be considered to be in full effect as of September 2nd, 2022. Included in an array of adjustments to declaring compliance of products expected to come into contact with food under Annex IV of The Regulation is the obligation of business operators who produce intermediate substances to provide adequate information about the migration of respective impurities and degradants for which genotoxicity has not otherwise been ruled out. Consequently; impurities and degradants of commonly used plastic additives which currently have ambiguous toxicological profiles must now be shown not to migrate to food or food simulant from the intermediate material(s) in which they exist at a rate of 0.00015 mg/kg (0.15 parts-per-billion). In light of this obligation, research has been conducted into the presence, detection of, and reporting on impurities and degradants of the prevalent plastic additive Anthranilamide (CAS No. 88-68-6). The degradants of Anthranilamide are representative of compounds which exhibit unknown toxicological status and are the epitome of the rationale for the inclusion of this concept in Annex IV of the 15th Amendment. The work presented in this paper sought to explore the challenges in adhering to the amended requirements in Annex IV of The Regulation insofar as how low the threshold of migration is set as well as options to consider for business operators producing intermediate compounds in the EU and the US who will both likely see increased demand for such declaration of compliance. As a subject, Anthranilamide is merely representative of all plastic additives that can give rise to degradants or which exhibit impurities that have unknown toxicological status and the ideas presented here are meant to be used generically in how best to navigate a new era of food contact plastics compliance requirements.

About the Presenter

CURRENT ROLE WITHIN THE PLASTICS INDUSTRY - Regulatory/compliance specialist for colorants, adjuvants and impurities used or found in compounding with emphasis on food-contact materials - Food contact compliance testing consultant, technician and impurities researcher.

BRIEF PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND - NIAS quantification method development manager - Extensive experience developing and conducting migration fastness studies - REACH sameness testing and dossier preparation manager - Liquid and ion chromatography specialist - Master of Science (MS) in Chemistry with focus on dyes and small organic molecules

Robert Weiss, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor
University of Connecticut

Document Unavailable

Abstract

Hydrophobically modified hydrogels based on statistical copolymers of a water soluble monomer and a fluoroacrylate exhibit extraordinary fracture toughnesss, ~ 10^4 J/m^2. The origin of the toughness is a nanostructuredd morphology consisting of hydrophobic nanodomains dispersed in a water-swollen polymer continous phase. The hydrophobic associations within the nanodomains serve as the fundamental crosslink for the network, and the reversible nature of these physical crosslinks provides a mechanism for energy dissipation by rearrangement of the hdyrophobic groups when under stress. The reversible crosslinks also allow the hydrogels to be extruded in the dry or wet state or injected as in situ forming hydrogels for biomedical applications such as tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. The very small distances (< 10 nm) between nanodomains affects the mobility of water in these hydrogels, and even at relatively high water contents (> 50%), the hydrogels suppress freezing of the water. For nanodomain separations ~ 2 nm, a confinement effect prevents freezing of water to temperatures as low as 128K, which suggests that these hydrogels may have useful applications as antifreeze materials for biomedical, agriculture or food applications. Hybrid gels with a covalent network in addition to the physical network exhibit shape memory effects.

About the Presenter

Robert Weiss retired from the University of Akron in 2016, where he was the Hezzleton E. Simmons Prof. of Polymer Eng. and served as the Chair of the Dept. of Polymer Eng. and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering. Prior to joining the University of Akron in 2009, he was a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and the United Technologies Corp. Prof. of Advanced Materials and Processing at the University of Connecticut where he served 10 years as Director of the Polymer Science Program and 6 years as the Associate Director of the Institute of Materials Science. Bob retired from UConn in 2009 and is currently Distinguished Emeritus there. He received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Northwestern Univ. in 1972 and a PhD in chemical engineering from the Univ. of Massachusetts in 1976. He spent 5 years at Exxon Chemical and the Corporate Research Laboratories of Exxon Research and Eng. Co. before joining the Chem. Eng. Dept. at UConn in 1981. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Chemical Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) and the North American Thermal Analysis Society He was a Fulbright Scholar at Imperial College (London) in 1987-88 and was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in 1990. He received the SPE Education Award in 2000, SPE Research Award in 2002, SPE Engineering and Technology Award in 2003 and the SPE International Award in 2008. He was awarded a doctor honoris causa from Brno University of Technology (Czech Republic) in 2012. Bob‚Äôs research interests include structure-property relationships of multiphase polymers, notably ionomers, block copolymers, liquid crystalline polymers, polymer blends, elastomers and gels. He has published 276 journal papers and 330 conference proceedings and has 26 U.S. patents. He served 25 years as associate editor and editor-in-chief of the journals Polymer Engineering and Science and Polymer Composites.

He is a doctoral student and research assistant at Schmalkalden University of Applied Sciences.

Ines Traxler
Research Engineer
Competence Center CHASE GmbH

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Abstract

Due to insufficient sorting and recycling, macroscopic contaminations remain in post-consumer polyolefin recyclates. It is known that these contaminations affect the mechanical properties of the recyclates, as they constitute defects and thus crack initiators. However, the influences of different types and amounts of macroscopic contaminants have not yet been analyzed systematically. In this study, to close this knowledge gap, virgin polypropylene (PP) was systematically contaminated with paper, aluminum, sand, wood, in-mold labels, jute fibers and long glass-fibers. Additionally, three commercially available post-consumer PP recyclates were investigated. In a two-stage process, all materials were injection-molded into plates and subsequently milled to specimens. The specimens underwent (i) tensile tests at 50 mm/min, (ii) intermediate-rate tensile tests at 2000 mm/min, and (iii) tensile impact tests. Further, optical microscopy was used to measure the dimensions of the defects on the fracture surfaces. First, the influences of various types and quantities of contamination were evaluated. No significant effects were detected, as the matrix material was very brittle. Compared to the virgin reference grade, most samples showed lower strain-at-break values, except for those with labels and long glass-fibers, for which strain values increased. All PP post-consumer recyclates exhibited a more pronounced ductile behavior, although the contaminations incorporated gave rise to relatively high standard deviations. Second, in a comparison of various testing speeds, a greater influence of contaminants was detected in test (iii). Samples taken from a position close to the sprue had better mechanical properties than samples taken from the opposite side of the plate, as contaminants tend to flow to the end of the produced part. Finally, a non-linear relationship between the energy needed for fracture in testing methods (ii) and (iii) and the dimensions of the contamination on the fracture surface was found.

About the Presenter

Ines finished her Master's degree in Polymer Technologies and Science at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz (Austria) in 2020. The Bachelor and Master Thesis were done in the field of solar energy dealing with the development and evaluation of stabilizers needed for a high endurance time of solar thermal systems and photovoltaic modules. Since then she is working on her PhD Thesis in the field of recycling of polyolefin waste at the Competence Center CHASE (Austria).

Yousef Mubarak, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairperson Chemical Engineering Department
University of Jordan

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Abstract

Orange peels have high cellulose content and they are available in good quantities. The present study aimed to a produce bioplastic composite based on orange peels. Orange peels were ground using a semi-automatic grinder before the pre-treatment step. The peels were immersed in a 15% sodium hydroxide NaOH solution for 4 hours at 60°C to remove the lignin, hemicelluloses, and other pectic substances. Then, they were neutralized with 1% acetic acid before being washed with distilled water and dried overnight at 60°C in a convective oven. Different natural additives, including starch, glycerol, agar-agar, and Dsorbitol, were added to the orange peels to develop the bioplastic material for optimized mechanical and plasticizing properties. To enhance the mechanical properties of the orange peel bioplastic, calcium carbonate was used in different weight percentages.

The ultimate tensile strength of the orange peels bioplastic samples increased from 0.9 MP to 2.4 MPa with the addition of 8 wt% calcium carbonate. On the other hand, the fracture point decreased from 20% to almost 13% strain by the addition of calcium carbonate, the bioplastic become more brittle as the weight percentage of calcium carbonate increased. The bending tests showed that the maximum deflection achieved before fracture is equal to 12 mm and that the specimen can withstand forces up to 6.2 N. This indicates that the achieved biomaterial has a remarkable bending strength and can withstand up to 6.2 N before fracture, proving that it has a strong bending behavior. The deflection decreased by about 20% when 8 wt% of calcium carbonate existed in the matrix and the bending withstand force reduced to about 5.0 N. It is expected that applying a coating layer to the orange peels bioplastic end products makes them more attractive and expands their commercial applications.

About the Presenter

Prof. Yousef Mubarak, Chairperson Chemical Engineering Department, School of Engineering, The University of Jordan

B.Sc., Chemical Engineering, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan
M.Sc., Chemical Engineering, The University of Jordan, Jordan
Ph.D., Queen's University Belfast, UK

Luyi Sun, Ph.D.
Professor
University of Connecticut

Document Unavailable

Abstract

In nature, some marine organisms, such as Cephalopods, have evolved to possess camouflage traits by dynamically and reversibly altering their transparency, fluorescence, and coloration via muscle-controlled surface structures and morphologies. To mimic these display tactics, we designed a series of scalable, simple, and low-cost elastomer-based composites, which exhibit similar deformation controlled surfaces to realize various mechanochromisms, including: transparency change mechanochromism, luminescent mechanochromism, color alteration mechanochromism, and encryption mechanochromism. Based on similar elastomer-based composites, a series of moisture and/or laser responsive wrinkle dynamics inspired by human skin featuring different reversibilities and stabilities were also designed and fabricated. These unique responsive dynamics resulted in the invention of a series of responsive materials triggered by moisture and/or laser, whose response can be either reversible or irreversible by tailoring the dimension, morphology, and/or composition of the hybrid structure. The above multifunctional biomimetic elastomer-based composites are promising for applications in smart windows, dynamic optical switches, encryption, anti-counterfeit tabs, water indicators, etc.

About the Presenter

Dr. Luyi Sun is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Dr. Sun‚Äôs current research focuses on the design and fabrication of polymer-based hybrids for various applications, with a focus on microstructure control via novel processing. He has published more than two hundred eighty peer-reviewed journal articles. He holds twenty-four US patents and over fifty foreign patents.

Sven Behrens, Ph.D.
Managing Scientist
Exponent

Document Unavailable

Abstract

A novel type of foam can form when blowing or frothing is applied to aqueous particle dispersions in the presence of small amounts of a water-immiscible secondary liquid. If the particles have sufficient wettability for both liquids, the process yields a foam in which coated bubbles are embedded in a tenuous network of particles bridged by the secondary liquid and stabilized by capillary forces. First discovered in 2014, these so-called capillary foams show unusual stability and rheological properties in the liquid state. They also provide new avenues for the production and customization of solid foams. The secondary liquid component can be chosen from wide variety of options, including monomers and prepolymers, polymers solutions, waxes and melts. Along with this choice comes a variety of options to solidify the foam, which includes thermal or UV curing, interfacial polymerization or precipitation, solvent extraction, and cooling; these choices largely determine the foam's mechanical properties. The solid dispersion particles, which can be polymeric or inorganic, can impart additional functionality to the foam, such as magnetic, UV absorbing, heat conducting, or antimicrobial properties, to name just a few. Solid capillary foams can be made using materials commonly found in plastics and technical foams, but they can also be based on biocompatible, biodegradable, or even edible ingredients. In this presentation, I will briefly review the structure and material properties of capillary foams known so far and discuss the broad development opportunities of polymer composite foams for a variety of applications.

About the Presenter

Sven Behrens is a Managing Scientist at the engineering and scientific consulting firm Exponent. He holds a diploma in Physics from Goettingen University (Germany) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland. After two years of postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and five years of industrial research in the polymer research division of BASF, Germany, he worked as an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology from 2007 to 2020, with tenure since 2013. Since 2020, he has been working as a consultant in the Practice of Polymer Science & Materials Chemistry at Exponent while retaining an adjunct faculty position at Georgia Tech.

Dr. Patrick C. Lee received his M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Toronto in 2001 and 2006, respectively. Then he pursued Postdoctoral study in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota under Prof. Chris Macosko. Dr. Lee began his professional career at The Dow Chemical Company in 2008. He was a Research Scientist in Dow's Core Research and Development organization. Dr. Lee joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The University of Vermont as an assistant professor in 2014, then joined the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at The University of Toronto starting July 1st, 2018. Since joining U of Toronto, he created the research platform on the lightweight composite structures. Dr. Lee has 61 research journal papers, more than 100 refereed conference abstracts/papers, 2 book chapters, and 19 filed or issued patent applications. He is the PI or co-PI on domestically and internationally awarded grants from various government agencies and industries. Among his honors, Dr. Lee received the US National Science Foundation Early Faculty Career Development Award (CAREER) in 2018, the PPS Morand Lambla award in 2018, the Hanwha Advanced Materials Non-Tenured Faculty Award in 2017, 3 "best paper" awards from the Society of Plastics Engineer (2005, 2 in 2011). He also served for ANTEC TPM&F 2019 as the Technical Program Chair.

Anil Tiwari
Lead Scientist
SABIC Research and Technology Pvt Ltd

Carlos Pereira
Chief Scientist, Automotive Technology
SABIC Research and Technology Pvt Ltd

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Abstract

Thermoforming is a widely employed technology for large part manufacturing in the automotive industry, in part because of lower initial tooling costs and the suitability of this process for medium to low production volumes. At present, the industry manufactures EV battery components predominantly through sheet metal forming. This can come with some challenges: use of metal can add significant weight and negatively affect overall performance. Also of significance, metal solutions can present critical heat shielding concerns. Despite all of this, lack of alternate mature large-scale manufacturing processes has kept sheet metal forming as the industry's leading choice. The challenges and limitations of using conventional metal highlight potential opportunities for use of thermoplastics, specifically for battery pack components such as top covers and bottom trays. The latter shows tremendous promise to support weight savings, for extended range, and enhanced thermal runaway protection, for improved safety. Furthermore, thermoplastics can potentially deliver added benefits, such as increased functional integration, enhanced thermal and electrical insulation, etc. To develop such solutions requires a holistic approach combining optimal design, novel material formulations, creative approaches for manufacturability, and methods for sub-system level validation. This session will highlight a study in which a novel thermoplastic composite material ‚Äì a 30% glass-filled, intumescent, flame-retardant (FR) polypropylene (PP) — was used to manufacture a battery pack's top cover, through sheet extrusion and thermoforming. The composite material was first extruded successfully into flat sheets at both pilot scale and commercial scale to exhibit its manufacturability. Next, the sheets were tested under different fire scenarios to assess material performance against thermal runaway conditions. Finally, the extruded sheets were thermoformed into multiple prototype geometries, from small to large-scale — to validate formability of the material for the top cover and similar-sized battery pack parts. Study findings demonstrate the feasibility of extrusion and thermoforming of the thermoplastic composite material for large actual scale components with complex geometric features. In addition, tests show the potential of this same FR glass-filled PP material to withstand the thermal runaway conditions encountered in battery packs so the industry can meet vehicle occupant escape-time requirements.

About the Presenter

Anil Tiwari is a Gold Medalist in Master of Engineering in mechanical from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India. His primary expertise is in application development, structural design, engineering & manufacturability using thermoplastics and hybrid materials for light weighting, performance enhancement and part integration. Currently, Anil is part of Global Application Technology group and he is focusing on development of thermoplastic material solutions for automotive including EV batteries and other segments such as foam and lightweight for packaging application. He holds 15+ U.S. patents and has co-authored more than five publications in reputed international conferences.

Gregory B. McKenna received his B.S. in Engineering Mechanics in 1970 from the U.S. Air Force Academy, a S.M. in composite materials MIT in 1971. From 1971 until 1975 he was stationed at Hill Air Force Base in Ogden Utah, where he served as a Test Evaluation Engineer. In 1975 he left the Air Force at the rank of Captain. While in Utah, he also obtained a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Utah, graduating in 1976. After working as a post-doc at the National Bureau of Standards (NBS) for a year, he took a permanent position and worked at NBS (now NIST) until 1999 when he moved to Texas Tech University as a Professor of Chemical Engineering and the John R. Bradford Endowed Chair in Engineering. In 2021 he moved to the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University. Dr. McKenna has earned a reputation as a pioneering researcher in multiple areas of polymers and materials physics and engineering, including physics of glasses, solid mechanics and nonlinear viscoelasticity of polymers, thermodynamics and mechanics of elastomers and gels, and molecular rheology. He has over 260 publications that have been cited over 20,000 times. Dr. McKenna is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Society of Plastics Engineers, the Society of Engineering Science, the North American Thermal Analysis Society (NATAS), The American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Society of Rheology. He is the recipient of multiple awards including the International Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers, the Mettler-Toledo Award of NATAS, and the Bingham Award of the Society of Rheology.

John Daguerre-Bradford
Graduate Student
UMass Amherst PSE

Document Unavailable

Abstract

Natural and synthetic polymeric foams display a variety of open and closed pores with diverse shapes, sizes, and degrees of anisotropy. In state-of-the-art foaming processes, anisotropy in the microcellular structure is produced from an isotropic melt or resin and the imposed confinement in one or more directions to generate anisotropic expansion. As a result, the entire monolith foamed in this way exhibits cells aligned in the direction dictated by the confinement. This, in turn, results in a simple deformational response that is dictated by the loading condition relative to the microcellular orientation. In this work, we investigate the potential of generating a foamed morphology within an anisotropic medium (e.g. film or fiber) to understand how molecular orientation affects the resulting anisotropy in the microcellular structure. In addition, we investigate if we can use this as a strategy to generate complex microcellular hierarchical constructs by using fibers and or films as templates and see how they affect the corresponding deformation. Herein, results are presented to show how assemblies of fibers are woven or twisted with a bias or helical structure and then foamed using superheated water (shH2O) and or supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) to manufacture complex microcellular structures. In addition, results from mechanical tests also show how the imposed bias in the foams result in complex deformation imposed by the bias. That is, foams generated to create a helical bias are shown to undergo torsional deformation commensurate with uniaxial deformation when compressed uniaxially. These concepts propose a method to create ‚Äúsmart foams‚Äù through the proper assembly of templates (films and/or fibers) that can deform in a variety of different ways, dictated by their overall composite microcellular structure.

About the Presenter

John Daguerre-Bradford is a 4th year graduate student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the Polymer Science and Engineering Department under Dr. Alan Lesser. He graduated in 2019 with a degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech, where he conducted research under Dr. Robert Moore and Dr. Johan Foster.

Zohir Benrabah, Ph.D.
Senior Research Officer
National Research Council Canada ATS

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Abstract

A key challenge to the widespread commercialization of fuel cell electrical vehicle, is to design compact and cost effective on-board Compressed Gaseous Hydrogen tanks which store sufficient quantities of H2 without sacrificing passenger and cargo space. The first generation of FCEVs use 700 bar Type IV pressure vessels to store hydrogen. These vessels have a cylindrical BMPL, overwrapped by carbon-fiber composite material to maintain the internal pressure, which serves as a hydrogen gas permeation layer. However, due to its small molecular size, H2 permeates through the plastic liner wall. This represents a serious issue that should be addressed early in the design stage in order to minimize H2 emissions from the liner and conform to legal safety requirements and standards. Meanwhile, automotive OEMs and their suppliers are being challenged to design longer and thinner liners with very consistent wall thickness. One way to meet the hydrogen permeation rate requires a judicious choice of liner material. In the thermoplastic forming industry, it is still common practice to rely on trial and error to find the appropriate barrier layer configuration/thickness required to meet the permeation rate limit requirement. A tool offering a more efficient alternative, based on reliable predictive/virtual analysis of the H2 diffusion through the BMPL wall, could significantly shorten the design/development cycle by allowing product prototypes to be analyzed and tested virtually. A finite element based model that could help a designer better understand barrier layer properties was integrated in the latest version of NRC's BlowView software. The mathematical diffusion model adopted is based on Fick's diffusion law to predict H2 diffusion through a polymeric wall. Promising results, in terms of H2 permeation rate on an industrial BMPL, will presented during the presentation.

About the Presenter

Zohir Benrabah is a Forming and Blow Molding Simulation Scientist at NRC's Automotive and Surface Transportation Research Center in Boucherville, Quebec, Canada, where he is involved in the development of the engineering software, BlowView, dedicated to simulating and optimizing blow molding processes such as: Conventional and Twin Sheet Extrusion, Stretch, Thermoforming, and most recently Suction Blow Molding. Zohir hold a Bachelor and Master degree in Mechanical Engineering and he completed his Ph.D. in 2002 in computational structure at Laval University. He has written over 40 papers on the simulation of thermoplastic forming processes.

Mohammad Ali Nikousaleh
Scientific Assistant
University of Kassel

Ralf-Urs Giesen, Ph.D.
Managing Director
University of Kassel

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Abstract

Multi-component injection molding of liquid silicone rubber (LSR) with thermoplastics, such as PBT or polyamide, is used in the manufacturing process for many components in the automotive industry and in the field of sanitary technology. Due to its hypoallergenic properties, biocompatibility, and resistance to the majority of liquid medications, liquid silicone rubbers are a promising alternative material for use in medical applications. They can be used over a wide temperature range and they are physiologically well tolerated and can be sterilized in various ways. Standard thermoplastics, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), cannot be overmolded with silicone rubbers in injection molding because of their low heat deflection temperature. With the right production method that combines the processing of silicone rubber and thermoplastics, it would be possible to replace the formerly expensive production and assembly of individual components. Such an integrated production technology makes it possible to realize high-performance new products economically and at the same time, to improve product safety for the patient through simplified, more highly automated and higher-quality production. In this investigation, we applied ABS grades, approved for medical applications, to show how ABS-LSR test specimens regarding the VDI guideline 2019 could be produced using variothermal mold heating and special surface treatment of ABS. Here we will show the development and challenges of a new 2C-molding technology for LSR — thermoplastic parts. For the quality of the later product, the adhesion between thermoplastic and LSR is the decisive feature and depends not only on the injection molding process, but also on the material pairing and the treatment process. Here, we succeeded to manufacture multifunctional products for medical devices through various partial pretratment methods of the thermoplastic surface. In addition, the effect of sterilization (gamma and eto) and artificial aging (humidity and temperature) and of such components on the adhesive bond is indicated.

About the Presenter

Mr. Mohammad Ali Nikousaleh received his bachelor's and master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kassel. During his bachelor thesis, he investigated the "Stereocomplication and Additivation of PLA with a twin-screw extruder". Afterward, in his master's thesis, he continued his research on the influence of UVC irradiation as a surface activation method for bisphenol A polycarbonate to improve adhesion in TP-LSR composites, which was awarded the "Ráchling Prize" at the University of Bayreuth in 2018. Parallel to his studies, he worked on various projects, enabling him to gain more experience in scientific and practical topics. His professional experience in Germany includes working experience at Dow Corning Company (Wiesbaden; Germany) and Alutrim Company (Kyritz; Germany). Since January 2020, he is a research assistant at the University of Kassel and is engaged in multi-component injection molding of liquid silicone rubber.

Dr. Ralf-Urs Giesen studied Mechanical Engineering specialized in polymer process engineering at University of Paderborn/Germany, after that he made his PhD at the University of Kassel/Germany. In 2009 he took up employment as scientific assistant in the Institute for Materials Technology, Department Polymer Technology at University of Kassel/Germany. Currently Mr. Giesen is the managing director of the Polymer Application Center (called UNIpace) of the University of Kassel and also the head of the division UNIpace in the department of Polymer Technology.

Dr. Manojkumar Chellamuthu has 14 years of research and engineering experience in structure-process-property relationships of complex fluids. An R&D Rheology Leader at Sabic Specialties with Strong Technical Skills Who Drives Innovation and New Product Development in the Areas of Structure-Property and Property-Processing Relationships. His technical work on developing industry-first High Temperature Extensional Rheometer has led to understand the evolution of microstructure for anti-drip properties at temperatures relevant to UL-94 V Flame testing. Dr. Chellamuthu has 15+ patents awarded/pending for innovations in engineering thermoplastics. Dr. Chellamuthu has received a best paper award by Applied Rheology division for using "Rheology as a Tool to Understand Anti-drip Properties in Flame Retardant Polycarbonate Resins" Manojkumar received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He Joined Sabic after spending 2 years as a post-doctoral scientist at NIST, Polymer Division

Altekin Celik
Head, Plastics Processing
IKT - University of Stuttgart

Abstract

The single-screw extruder is one of the most important plastics processing machines. In order to improve the design of the machines and in order to predict relevant process variables, computer-aided approaches as three-dimensional simulation are increasingly coming to the fore. Depending on the process zone, different modeling approaches are used. For the feed zone, the so-called Discrete Element Method (DEM) is becoming increasingly important. For the melting zone, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is predominantly used with sub methods like the Finite Volume Method (FVM). However, to date, no method has been explored that allows joint consideration of the feed zone and the melting zone. In this paper, building on the authors' recent work, a novel approach is presented that allows a joint consideration of these zones. The approach explored is based - for the first time in the case of the single-screw extruder - on a coupled CFD-DEM method. The approach pursued represents a three-phase model. It is based on the Volume of Fluid (VoF) Method and couples it with DEM. In this work, the melting process in the single-screw extruder is simulated using the new approach with joint consideration of the feed zone and the melting zone. To calculate the melting process, a melting model recently published by the authors is used. The results are compared with experimental investigations.

About the Presenter

Born in Germany in year 1991
studied Mechanical Engineering (Dipl.-Ing.) at TU Kaiserslautern, Germany
started working as a phd-student at Institut für Kunststofftechnik, University of Stuttgart beginning 08/2017
Current Position: Head of Plastics Processing at IKT.

Wendi Wang
Moulding Technology Manager
LEGO System A/S

Kelly Cristina Briceño
Materials Engineer
LEGO System A/S

Document Unavailable

Abstract

Since the invention of LEGO System in Play (The more bricks you have, the more you can build.) in 1955, LEGO ensures its play experience by providing high precision interlocking LEGO elements. To keep our Planet Promise, LEGO aims to make bricks from more sustainable sources without compromising on quality or safety. This requires exploring a wider range of materials. This presentation aims to show the main technical consideration to secure the quality of LEGO bricks regardless of material and process variations. In the injection moulding process, many factors such as resin, colours, suppliers and element design could impact the element properties. In this presentation, a Design of Experiment (DoE) was carried out to study the influence of processing parameters on shrinkage and mechanical properties. Besides, the influence of colours on shrinkage and crystallinity was also investigated.

About the Presenter

Wendi Wang is moulding technology specialist at the LEGO group in Denmark. With a background in polymer physics, she is interested in understanding the link between process variables and material properties through a scientific data-drive approach. Co-presenter: Kelly Briceno is a Materials Engineer and have been working for more than 15 years with different materials across Europe. Since 2019, she has been dedicated to research, understanding and supporting the implementation of more sustainable materials in the LEGO portfolio.

Kelly Briceño is a Materials Engineer and have been working for more than 15 years with different materials across Europe. Since 2019, she has been dedicated to research, understanding and supporting the implementation of more sustainable materials in the LEGO portfolio.

Johannes Austermann
Graduate Research Assistant
IKV - RWTH Aachen University

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Abstract

Based on its mouldless, layer-wise manufacturing principle, screw-extrusion-based Additive Manufacturing (AM) allows for the efficient and economical production of thermoplastic prototype parts. During manufacturing, thermoplastic pellets are molten in a single-screw extruder and discharged through a nozzle. As the extruder is moved by a kinematic, the melt is subsequently locally discharged in a strand- and layer wise fashion to successively build up a part, similar to established AM processes such as the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF). In contrast to FFF, standard thermoplastic pellets can be processed, as a single-screw extruder instead of a heated nozzle is used for plasticising the material. Thus, enabling injection moulding (IM) prototypes to be manufactured from series IM grade materials, including filled materials such as talc-filled polypropylene. However, the layer-wise additive manufacturing leads to anisotropic mechanical part properties in terms of strength and stiffness, which differ from the properties of the final IM-part, currently limiting the use of AM-parts to concept- and geometric-prototypes. These properties not only result from lower part strength orthogonal to the direction of deposition due to incomplete healing between adjacent strands, but also from a difference in filler-orientations, based on the process specific flow behaviour of the melt during processing. To extend the use of parts manufactured in screw extrusion AM to functional- or even technical prototypes, for which the mechanical properties are crucial, an understanding of these differences in the anisotropic mechanical behaviour of AM- and IM-parts is necessary. In the scope of this work, the quasi-static tensile and flexural properties as well as the high-speed tensile properties of additively, screw-extrusion-based manufactured and injection moulded parts are investigated, taking into consideration differences in the filler orientation between the manufacturing processes. To account for the anisotropy, testing is performed in several directions relative to the direction of deposition in AM or the direction of flow in IM. Furthermore, optical investigations are performed to assess the impact of filler orientations. The investigations are performed by manufacturing 1BA tensile test specimens from a 20 wt.% talc filled IM grade polypropylene material in screw-based AM and IM, which are subsequently used to perform quasi-static tensile and high-speed tensile testing. In addition, test specimens in accordance with DIN EN ISO 178 are manufactured for flexural testing. To allow for comparability, the test specimens are indirectly manufactured, i.e. both in AM as well as IM plate geometries are produced, from which the test specimens are milled. The AM parts are tested parallel and orthogonal to the strand-direction as well as at an angle of 30¬∞ and 60¬∞ relative to the strands. For IM, testing is carried out parallel and orthogonal to the direction of flow. In addition, ¬µCT and microscopic investigations are conducted to analyse the orientation of the filler. While the results show an anisotropy in strength and stiffness for both IM and AM specimens, the anisotropy of these properties is significantly more pronounced in case of AM. This is based on the higher degree of filler orientation in the strands of the AM-parts. At the same time, only a partial orientation of the fillers in flow direction can be determined for IM-parts, showing that the fillers used can impact the comparability of AM and IM-prototypes. Additionally, it is shown that a higher comparability of the part properties is possible in the case of a quasi static load, compared to high-speeds of load application, limiting the use of AM-prototypes to such load cases.

About the Presenter

After successfully studying mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University, Johannes Austermann completed his master's studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and RWTH Aachen University with distinction in the field of plastics engineering. Since 2019, he has headed the "Additive Manufacturing" working group as a graduate research assistant at the IKV. The focus of his work is on the process- and material-related properties of additively manufactured components.

Studies: Material Sciences (M.Sc.), University of Gättingen, Germany. Career: since 2017, scientist at the Institut für Kunststofftechnik (IKT), University of Stuttgart (Germany). Field of research: material engineering, (reactive) compounding, polyamides, biopolymers

Xiaoping Guo, Ph.D.
Senior Associate Research Fellow
Abbott Laboratories

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Abstract

In an attempt to attest and justify that a polymeric medical device as possibly affected by some polymer process change(s) of device manufacturing would be substantially equivalent to relevant legally-marketed counterpart in view of its biological safety and functional effectiveness, a practical approach for statistically evaluating inherent thermo-chemical stability of polymer, namely activation energy of thermal degradation that is closely dependent of the underlying thermal history of device manufacturing, is proposed in compliance to relevant regulations and industrial guidelines. Accordingly, a series of thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) experiments can be comparatively conducted per ASTM E1641 standard practice and then kinetically studied to determine the measured activation-energy means for some "test" polymer samples taken from affected device, compared to some "control" polymer samples taken from relevant legally-marketed device, using the so-called Ozawa-Flynn-Wall analytical method. The statistical equivalence or superiority of affected device, compared to legally-marketed device, can be then technically assessed by performing the pertinent two-sample heteroscedastic t-test on any statistical differences in the so-measured activation-energy means between the affected and "control" polymer samples.

About the Presenter

Xiaoping Guo is currently a Senior Associate Research Fellow at the R&D Science & Technology, Abbott Laboratories (Electrophysiology Division), St. Paul, Minnesota. As a polymer specialist, he provides relevant technical services on Polymer Engineering & Science in support of product designs, advanced process development, post-market product analysis, and biological assessment of medical devices, and etc., across various medical device divisions in Abbott. He also conducts innovative polymer material development with specialty applications in novel medical devices, and performs a variety of in vitro and in vivo biostability studies of medical polymers for medical devices. Dr. Guo obtained his Ph.D. degree in Polymer Engineering from the College of Polymer Science & Polymer Engineering, The University of Akron, Ohio, in 1999.

Seokpum Kim, Ph.D.
R&D Scientist
Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Abstract

Large-scale additive manufacturing (AM) often produces parts with unintended deformation and failures during the manufacturing process. The process involves a hot molten polymer deposited on a previously deposited and cooled solidified layer, generating a temperature mismatch between the layers. The temperature difference causes thermal contraction mismatches with the different shrinkage rates, generating thermal residual stress between layers. Due to the residual stress, printed structures experience warpage and delamination. Therefore, understanding the heat distribution behavior essential to predict undesired failures. We used biomaterial reinforcement which has been widely used thanks to its sustainability, specific stiffness, and low cost compared with carbon and glass reinforcement. The reinforcement increases the structural stability of the printed part, reducing deformation. However, the challenges of unexpected deformation remain in the utilization of natural fiber reinforcement in the AM process. The goal of this work is to investigate the effect of internal structures (a.k.a., infill patterns) on heat distribution and deformation in the large-scale additive manufacturing system with wood fiber-reinforced polylactic acid. A sequentially coupled thermal-structural analysis was conducted to predict the temperature field and warpage with thermo-mechanical properties, which were measured by a thermo-mechanical analysis test and a dynamic mechanical analysis test. We printed a box geometry model with three different infill geometries. During the process, temperature data were gathered with an IR camera, and final deformations were measured. The simulation model was verified with the experiments, and the results show a good agreement between predicted and measured temperature profiles and deformations. We applied the developed simulation model to a roof tray with complex geometries for a case study.

About the Presenter

Dr. Seokpum (Pum) Kim is an R&D scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), specifically in the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. Pum's expertise is in digital manufacturing with polymer composites, specifically focusing on material processing and design optimization through computational analysis and predictions. Pum received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at Georgia Tech in 2016 and joined ORNL after his Ph.D program. He has developed multiple algorithms related to additive manufacturing and optimization methods for design and processing, which led to 27 publications (h index of 17) and 7 patents currently in pending.

Ashok M. Adur has a Ph.D. in Polymer Science & Engineering and trained in Executive Entrepreneurship. He has over 45 years of success in R & D, business development, marketing and general management at several chemical, plastics and paper companies, which ranged from a startup to those with multi-billion dollars in revenue. He has been honored as a Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). As a consultant at Everest International Consulting (LLC). Dr. Adur has expertise in plastics, polymers, elastomers, composites, microencapsulation & specialty products. He is considered an expert in polymer compounding and plastics recycling, particularly in compatibilization of multi-component systems and developing strategies for intellectual property issues in polymers and plastics. His wide experience covers most polymers and processes for end markets including packaging, automotive, appliance, wire & cable, medical device, building materials, material handling, fragrance, consumer products, plastics compounding and other industries. He has published 85 papers in professional journals and presentations at professional conferences and filed 77 patent applications, resulting in business of over $2.5 billion/year. He has recently written 3 chapters for a book on Bio-Products to be published in early 2023, based on his experience in bioplastics, recycling and sustainability.

Prabhat Krishnaswamy, Ph.D.
Senior Research Leader
Emc2

Abstract

The overall objective of this project is to conduct applied research that leads to an innovative agile manufacturing plant for onsite fabrication of recycled thermoplastic products at US military forward operating bases (FOBs). These plants need to designed so they are entirely self-contained in 20-foot ISO containers for both shipment and operation. A study by the US Department of Defense (DoD) of base camp waste confirmed that the single largest source of waste plastics is Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) from water and other beverage bottles. This project to convert reclaimed PET (rPET) to useful products was initiated by the DoD's Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) in 2018 with Emc2 as the lead along with the US Army Corps of Engineers and is in its final year of completion. Earlier results from this on-going effort have been presented at the other conferences including the Society of Plastics Engineers' Annual Technical Conferences (ANTEC®) Additive Manufacturing (AM) sessions in 2020 and 2022. This paper describes a recent significant breakthrough in the above research to convert rPET flakes (in granulate form) obtained from water bottles directly into final finished product — thus eliminating the need to compound the flakes into pellets and then extruding filament prior to AM. This state-of-the-art AM technology has been developed jointly by Emc2 and re:3D using their Gigabot-X printer originally designed to use pellets or flake. These printers could replace traditional manufacturing methods, especially in remote environments, low-resource settings, or places with limited access to supply chains such as FOBs. re:3D's Screw based Fused Granulate Fabrication (FGF) addresses these challenges by 3D printing directly from rPET flakes. In this work, the modifications to the Gigabot-X printer along with the experimental and analytical efforts involved are described in detail so as to enable the use of granulated rPET flake in AM. Thermal properties, extrusion consistency, and mechano-structural properties are characterized and optimized. Example models with value in the FOB ecosystem were identified and printed from the rPET granulate to demonstrate the ability to convert locally generated waste into value-added objects via AM.

About the Presenter

Dr. Krishnaswamy received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Prior to co-founding Emc2 in 1998, he was a Senior Scientist at Battelle Memorial Institute in the Advanced Materials Department. He has conducted extensive research in both analyti-cal and experimental areas of engineering mechanics and is a renowned expert in the mechanical and failure behavior of plastics, composites, and bio-based materials, especially in structural -bearing applications. He has led both the technology development and worldwide standards activities in the area of recycled plastics and composite lumber and has been the Principal Investigator of the DOD's SERDP Project to convert recycled thermoplastics into useful products at Forward Operating Bases . Dr. Krishnaswamy has co-authored over 80 publication in technical journals, conference proceedings and has given numerous invited talks at academic and research institutions. He the holds 6 patents.

Russell Speight, Ph.D.
Director, Manufacturing Simulation
Autodesk Australia Pty. Ltd.

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Abstract

Injection molding simulation began in the 1970s, and has advanced in sophistication to the present day. Material testing technology has also evolved over the same time period, to meet the increased demands of simulation. The accuracy of injection moulding simulation is influenced by many factors such as modeling of part geometry, runner and nozzle, mesh type and density, mathematical finite element solution and process settings. The focus of this paper is material data, from the latest material testing methodologies, outlinings the evolution of material testing technology to meet the demands of the highest accuracy simulation. Investment in state of the art equipment and continued involvement in research ensures advancement towards future goals to: reduce environmental impact and provide sustainability data, expand the materials database, and improving accuracy. Testing methods for the viscous, thermal, visco-mechanical, thermo-mechanical and mechanical properties are outlined and discussed. This paper outlines the background behind the development of latest test methodologies, with a focus on in-line rheological methods, pressure-volume temperure measurement, thermal conductivity, specific heat, linear coefficent of thermal expanasion and non-linear mechancial methods.

About the Presenter

Dr. Russell Speight joined Moldflow, Australia in 1995 (acquired by Autodesk in 2009) and has held roles of increasing responsibility within the Engineering Simulation Team. He is currently Director, Manufacturing Simulation, managing a global engineering team. Russell was awarded a Ph.D. in 1993, University of Bradford, UK and an M.B.A. in 2018, Deakin University, Australia. Previously, engaged as President of the Australia New Zealand SPE Section, Vice-President, and SPE Councillor for six years. Fellow of the Society of Plastics Engineers. Chartered Engineer and Fellow of Institute of Measurement and Control. Inventor of Patented Automated Machine Optimization Technology, with over 70 research publications. He holds the position of Honorary Visiting Professor of Polymer Process Measurement Technology, University of Bradford, UK, Advanced Materials Engineering.

Anthony Frutos, Ph.D.
Technology Director
Corning Incorporated

Document Unavailable

Abstract

Copper glass ceramic (CGC) particles have been incorporated into a variety of thermoplastic polymers (e.g. nylon, TPU, PVC) via melt compounding to impart antibacterial and antiviral properties to the polymer. Experiments with these CGC thermoplastic composites showed that they effectively killed more than 99.9% of bacteria and viruses on the surface within 2 hours. Antimicrobial (AM) activity was not impacted by the presence of pigments (e.g. carbon black) and was maintained for at least 1 year when the parts were stored under ambient conditions. Key to enabling and maintaining bioactivity was the addition of booster molecules with the CGC particles to enhance the AM activity for plastics where the CGC particles alone result in low initial and/or long-term AM efficacy. Copper leach rates from the polymer composites were measured using UV-vis spectroscopy and ion chromatography methods to understand the impact of leachability on AM activity. These polymer composites are suitable for various downstream processing such as injection, blow, and compression molding. Moreover, long-lasting AM efficacy in CGC thermoplastic composites can be achieved without methods that require modifying the bulk plastics for intentional metal coordination.

About the Presenter

Dr. Tony Frutos is a Technology Director in the Emerging Innovations Development group at Corning Incorporated. He has over 23 years of new product development experience. Tony has been issued 19 U.S. patents, and is an author on more than 39 technical publications. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Brigham Young University and a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Julia Resch
Research Associate
IKT - Univeristy of Stuttgart

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Abstract

Injection molding and extrusion are the two basic processing methods in plastics technology. The most likely applications, especially in case of extrusion, are in the packaging sector. Here, polyolefins represent the most important type of plastic in terms of volume. Worldwide, the total consumption of polyolefins is estimated at over 150 million tons per year. However, during the extrusion of polyolefins such as polyethylene or polypropylene, flow instabilities can occur as soon as the mass flow exceeds a critical value. These instabilities mainly show up in three different forms. They are referred to as the "sharkskin effect", the "stick-slip effect" and the "gross melt fracture". The effects mentioned appear with increasing shear rate. In the case of the sharkskin effect, periodic tearing of the product surface result, producing a sharkskin-like structure. The occurrence of the stick-slip effect manifests itself in products (for example, strands or films) with alternately smooth and jagged structures. If even higher shear rates during the process lead to melt fracture, in which the product undergoes extremely severe deformation. The flow instabilities can limit the production rate and thus also affect cost efficiency. To counteract them, processing aids such as fluoropolymers are added in practice. Fluoropolymers are considered to be extremely environmentally critical. Due to the strong C-F bond, these polymers can stay in the environment for an extremely long time and are therefore considered persistent. Due to this persistence, the introduction of the substances into the environment is so to say irreversible and poses a serious risk to humans and the environment. For this reason, their ban is often called for. In the past, various alternatives have been developed as polymer processing aids. Most of them are based on siloxanes. However, siloxanes also have high stabilities and durabilities, which is why they might be harmful to the environment, as well. The aim of this study therefore was to develop a novel and highly effective processing aid master batch that does neither pose a risk to health nor the environment. The new developed master batch should suppress flow instabilities and thus shift the process towards higher mass throughputs. In order to investigate the effectiveness of the processing aid master batches developed, they were tested with a high-pressure capillary rheometer. The capillary rheometer offers to detect the resulting pressure fluctuations, which are caused by the flow instabilities. For this purpose, a novel and high-resolution measuring nozzle was developed. This nozzle allows complete characterization and high-precision testing of the efficiency of the developed master batches. Various additives were tested. It was shown that the measuring method is suitable for detecting and accurately analyzing flow instabilities in the nozzle. It was also found that polysorbate is suitable as a flow aid for polyolefin extrusion. By adding polysorbate, the pressure instabilities could be suppressed so that surface effects were no longer visible.

About the Presenter

since 02/2018 IKT - Institut für Kunststofftechnik (University of Stuttgart, Germany) Research Associate, Material Engineering Research projects in the fields of plastic pollution, biopolymers and sustainability, polymer porcessing
04/2014 – 09/2017 IKT — Institut für Kunststofftechnik (University of Stuttgart, Germany) - Master Thesis at the Institut für Kunststofftechnik IKT, University Stuttgart Title: "Analysis of the Processing Behavior of Recycled Carbon Fibers by Means of Direct Fiber Compounding in the Injection Molding Process". - Research Assistant: research areas include materials engineering, biopolymers, plastics and environment - Student Assistant: research areas include materials engineering, biopolymers, plastics and environment - Bachelor Thesis at the Institut für Kunststofftechnik IKT, University Stuttgart Title: "Mechanical Characterization of Thermoplastic Starch - Blends".
04/2016 – 04/2017 — Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG (Weissach, Germany) Internship and Student Trainee in the field of materials engineering - pre-development and technology management

Education

11/2014 – 11/2017 — University of Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany) Master of Science, Technology Management
09/2010 – 10/2014 University of Stuttgart (Stuttgart, Germany) Bachelor of Science, Technology Management
09/2001 – 09/2010 Hegel-Gymnasium Stuttgart - Vaihingen (Stuttgart, Germany) Abitur

Christoph Zimmermann
Head of Department Injection Moulding
IKV-Aachen University

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Abstract

The currently achievable flow path lengths in injection moulding often represent a limitation for thin-walled packaging applications as well as for technical components with long flow paths respectively high aspect ratios. Previous investigations have shown qualitatively that a micro-structured mould surface can positively influence the flow and cooling behaviour of the plastic melt in the cavity. This can be attributed to micro air cushions between the plastic melt and the mould, which influence the heat transfer from the plastic melt to the cavity. A lower required injection pressure or the realisation of longer flow paths are the result. In addition, faster filling times at constant injection pressures can reduce the cycle time of the injection moulding process. In order to investigate the influence of the surface structure in more detail, comprehensive practical and simulative investigations are carried out on the resulting flow path length, the surface replication and the melt temperature. Initially, different mould surface structures were produced using sink electrical discharge machining (SEDM) and then analysed with regard to the surface properties such as the surface roughness Ra and the material properties in the surface layer. The influence of the process parameters injection pressure, melt and mould temperature as well as two different polypropylene moulding compounds on the achievable flow path length for the different mould surfaces was then investigated and compared with an unstructured mould cavity. For this purpose, a flow meander tool with an aspect ratio of 460.5 was used and the parameters were varied in a full factorial test design. In addition, the influence of the mentioned parameters as well as the influence of the flow path on the structure replication is examined using laser-scanning microscopy and the melt temperature and cavity pressure along the flow path are determined by means of pressure and infrared sensors. So far, up to 4 % higher flow paths could be achieved due to the SEDM generated mould surface. At the same time, a significant dependence of the surface impression on the flow path length and thus also on the local melt properties such as the pressure or the temperature is shown. In addition to the practical test series, simulative investigations are carried out. By adjusting the heat transfer coefficient as a function of the structure replication in the simulation of the injection moulding process, the influence of the mould structuring on the cooling of the plastic melt can be taken into account. Using the pressure and temperature data of the mould sensor system as input and calibration data as well as the findings from a macroscopic simulation of the modified surface, a micro-model of the surface will also be developed and simulated. The boundary layer of the injection mould, which is influenced by the SEDM process, with e.g. a changed thermal conductivity, can also be taken into account. Finally, the results on the influence of the surface structure on the heat transfer will be transferred into commercial simulation software in order to improve the design of injection moulds.

About the Presenter

Professional Career

(since 07/2021) — He heads the Injection Moulding Department at the IKV and is in responsible for the organisation, guidance and supervision of 15 scientific staff members.

Education/Studies

(10/2010 to 07/2016) — Christoph Zimmermann studied mechanical engineering at the Rheinisch-Westf-lische Technische Hochschule Aachen, specialising in plastics technology (Bachelor and Master). He wrote his master's thesis at the Institute for Plastic Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen University in the field of elastomer design. Doctorate
(08/2016 to 06/2021) — Following his studies, he worked as a research assistant at the IKV. In the department of moulded part design and material technology he worked on the modelling the mechanical material behaviour of thermoplastic elastomers under complex stress conditions.

Kevin Guigley, Ph.D.
Principle Product Development Engineer
Amcor Flexibles North America

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Abstract

It is well known that melt processing post-consumer (PCR) or post-industrial (PIR) recycled resins can generate foul odors due to contamination and/or thermal degradation. Additional components, such as printing inks and adhesives in plastic packaging, may be viewed as contaminates in the recycled resin and can contribute to this problem. Some of these odors could be from volatile organic compounds, VOC‚Äôs, with known safety concerns. With a growing need in the flexible packaging industry to increase circularity through the use of PCR and PIR materials, there comes an increase in risk for health concerns and food safety. Amcor has developed methods using gas chromatography, GC, along with heated headspace sampling, HS, to chemically identify and measure the VOC released from PCR/PIR that have known safety concerns such as acrolein, methyl acrolein, and benzene. These methods help Amcor evaluate the quality of PCR/PIR sources to determine feasibility for certain applications, and aid in the design of next-generation recycle ready packaging films. This will be a discussion on the development of the testing methods along with results of VOC analysis.

About the Presenter

Kevin Guigley, PhD has spent most of his career in the development of products and analytical methods of polymeric materials and supporting chemistries. Kevin had obtained his doctorate in material science and engineering specializing in polymer science from The Pennsylvania State University. He also obtained a master's in chemistry from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With his background in both polymer science and chemistry, most of his technical efforts focused on the chemistries that affect the material properties of polymers and the resulting products. Kevin is a proven product developer as evidenced by authoring or coauthoring 5 patents and 7 patent applications. Kevin's initial work at Owens Corning was improving and developing the coatings on fiberglass, i.e. sizing chemistry, to improve mechanical and cyclic fatigue properties of fiberglass reinforced composites. His work at Owens Corning included developing and optimizing the properties of fiberglass composites in the applications of filament wound piping, thermoplastic composites, wood plastic composites, sheet molding compounds, fiberglass insulation, and ballistic composite armor plate. At Amcor, Kevin is continuing his interests in the chemistry of polymer materials by developing analytical methods for measuring the physical and chemical contaminants in recycled resins. This presentation will discuss his efforts on developing GC methods to measure and identify chemical contaminates with low to moderate boiling points, a.k.a. volatile organic components, VOC's.

Lisa Leuchtenberger
Chair of Plastics Processing
IVK - RWTH Aachen University

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Abstract

The annually increasing plastic production volume and therefore the accumulating plastic waste require increasing recycling rates, as the plastic is otherwise landfilled in the environment or thermally recycled. However, the use of recyclates is not approved due to various problems in the processing of recyclates and lower product qualities. In recycling processes, different material streams with varying degrees of contamination and with different colours and additives are joined and compounded into new granules. In addition, additives and colour particles vary in type and amount depending on the season. For example, more packaging is coloured red during the Christmas season than in summer. The varying material composition as well as the material degradation impact the melt viscosity from batch to batch. In order to adapt the process to fluctuating viscosities, one possible influencing variable is the die temperature. By default, the thermal state of extrusion dies is determined by heat sources such as electric heating cartridges or fluid tempering. In addition, cooling in form of convection and conduction occurs in extrusion dies. These temperature control options, while highly effective, are too sluggish to respond to viscosity fluctuations. Therefore, a new approach needs to be developed which allows rapid heat input and removal into and out of the melt. In other applications (such as electronics and aerospace) heat pipes are already used to quickly adjust the temperature in various components. Heat pipes exploit the high enthalpies of condensation and evaporation, so they are able to transfer heat highly efficiently through relatively small cross sections. So far, heat pipes in extrusion dies have only been a research topic for homogenising melt temperatures in the die, but with active cooling and heating, heat pipes offer a highly efficient way to adapt the die temperature close to the flow channel. In order to integrate heat pipes in a binary pre-distributor die used for the extrusion of blown films, viscosity fluctuations are analysed using computational fluid dynamic simulations. Based on the simulation results, the required heat transfer capacity to compensate the viscosity fluctuations is determined so that suitable heat pipes can be selected. The selected heat pipes will be integrated in the pe-distributor die to investigate the effect of active cooling and heating in practical trials. During the experiments, the viscosity is measured inline via a soft sensor based on pressure measurements. Depending on the viscosity at the die inlet, the temperature control of the heat pipes is adjusted to compensate for any occurring viscosity fluctuations.

About the Presenter

Lisa Leuchtenberger studied Business Administration and Engineering: Mechanical Engineering at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany, specializing in plastics technology (Bachelor and Master). She wrote her master's thesis at the Institute for Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University in the field of extrusion die design supported by computational fluid dynamics simulations.

Career path

(2019 - present) — Since March 2019, she has been working as a research assistant at the Institute of Plastics Processing at RWTH Aachen University. She is employed in the department Extrusion and Rubber Technology and is responsible for the workgroup Flat film extrusion and die design. Since May 2021, she has also been team leader of the Process Simulation team. Current research focus — Extrusion die design and thermal homogenization of extrusion dies.

Marco Sorgato is Research Fellow in Manufacturing Technologies and Production Systems at the Department of Industrial Engineering (DII) of the University of Padova. In 2016, he received the PhD in Industrial Engineering with the thesis entitled "Characterization of the micro injection moulding of micro- and nano-structured polymer surfaces". His main research activities focus on micro technologies, with particular reference to micro injection molding. The main investigated topics are related with:

Development of innovative process chains for the realization of micro and nano structured polymer surfaces;
Characterization of the effects of mold surface properties on both the filling and the demolding phase in micro injection molding;
Analysis of the feasibility of using additive manufacturing technique for the realization of micro-structured mold inserts for micro injection molding of micro fluidic devices.

Donna Bibber
CEO
Isometric Micro Molding, Inc.

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Abstract

Today, the need for micro molding applications is rapidly increasing, in part due to advancements in technology and scientific research. With medical devices becoming less invasive, and portable/wearable health devices gaining popularity, the need for small and highly precise components and parts has increased. Micro molding can be used to manufacture parts for these devices meeting the need for fine features, thin walls, micro holes, tight tolerances and scalability to high volume production. However, there are many challenges in molding micro parts or molding micro features and/or tight tolerances on small parts. This presentation will review some of the challenges involved in molding micro parts, sharps, micro holes, thin walls and micro automated assemblies and solutions for overcoming these challenges including resin selection and precision tooling considerations. In addition, we will discuss emerging applications where these micro advancements are required, including specialty surfaces.

About the Presenter

With over 34 years of industry experience, Donna Bibber has developed thousands of miniaturized devices incorporating micro molding and automated assembly. Ms. Bibber received her Bachelor of Science in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and is currently the CEO of Isometric Micro Molding, Inc. Ms. Bibber's plastics engineering background, expertise and unique problem-solving skills have earned her an excellent reputation and national and international recognition for her work in micro manufacturing. She has been a featured speaker at medical and drug delivery conferences across the globe and has published countless technical papers on micro molding and micro assembly. Her expertise in bioresorbable polymers and active ingredient combination devices, slow-release devices, ophthalmic devices and implants, glucose monitoring and insulin-delivery devices, neurological implants, biosensors, and oncology markers have given rise to many platform-type miniaturized devices commercially available today.

David Anzini
Technical Manager - R&D
Celgard LLC

Lynzie Nebel
Upstream Quote Engineer
Cytiva

Workshop Overview

This workshop is designed to view the obstacles of plastic manufacturing from the perspective of the end product owner. Pinpointing an issue gets easier the closer you get to the manufacturing source, but what happens if you're not near the source or if you don't know which path to use to track down the problem? The workshop will include a speaker who has experience dealing with these rabbit holes and how to recognize what issues matter and what aren't really issues, discussing how to approach a problem of a plastic product, creating a troubleshooting mindset to systematically attack the issue instead of just jumping in without an organized plan thought out. The speaker will be followed by a roundtable of experts in different fields and plastics processes, offering up how they target their product issues.

About the Instructors

Lynzie Nebel is an Upstream Quote Engineer for Cytiva, managing the product costing for custom upstream hardware equipment for bioprocessing. Throughout her career, Lynzie has gained experience in the automotive, appliance, medical, pet, and micro-injection molding industries.

Lynzie received her Bachelor of Science degree in Plastics Engineering Technology from Penn State Behrend in 2008. She has been a member of SPE since 2004 and has been involved in her local section, holding many positions including past President. Lynzie also sits on the Injection Molding Division board, and is the former secretary for the SPE Foundation board. She is currently the Vice President of Member Engagement on the Executive Board for SPE. In 2015, Lynzie was part of Plastics News' inaugural class of "Women Breaking the Mold," and was named one of the group's "Rising Stars" in 2018. She is also on the Industrial Advisory Board for Penn State's Plastics Department.

David J. Anzini is a Manager of Research & Development for Celgard, with an office located in Charlotte, North Carolina. Celgard is a global leader in the development and production of high-performance membrane technology which is found in lithium-ion batteries and other demanding applications, such as performance textiles and specialty filtration applications. Prior to this, Dave held positions at Zip-Pak, Pactiv, Conwed Plastics, and Mobil Chemical. He holds an MS and a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and has spent 40-plus years in the plastics and packaging industries. Dave holds multiple patents and has several patent applications pending. He also serves on the Extrusion Division Board of Directors.

Roger Avakian
Owner
Avakian PolyChem Consulting

Gary Wnek
Joseph F. Toot, Jr., Professor and Chair, Macromolecular Science and Engineering
Case Western Reserve University

Workshop Overview

The course will give an introduction to polymer stabilization in topics such as processing, long thermal, and UV stabilization of major thermoplastics.

Target Audience

The workshop is intended for those new to the field as this area is not typically taught during formal college education, but is essential to the commercial and technical viability of the major thermoplastic polymers.

About the Instructor

Roger Avakian was the Technical Director for over ten years at General Electric, Specialty Chemicals Division, which produced processing stabilizers, and formulated various stabilizer packages. Roger is also an inventor of several stabilizers. He also has over forty-seven years experience in polymers and additives.

Gary Wnek is the Joseph F. Toot, Jr., Professor of Engineering and Professor and Chair of Macromolecular Science and Engineering at Case Western Reserve University. He was previously a faculty member in The Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and the Department of Chemistry at RPI, and was the Founding Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Commonwealth University in its new School of Engineering. His research interests include processing of polymer multi-layer and polymer fiber/matrix composites, flammability mitigation of common polymers, fibrous polymers and gels for applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine, and synthetic macromolecular constructs that mimic physiological functions. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications and holds 37 US patents. He received the 2007 John W. Hyatt Award (benefit to society) from the Society of Plastics Engineers for his work on polymer nano- and microfibers for regenerative medicine and related biomedical applications.

Gary earned his Ph.D. In Polymer Science and Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1980, and his B.S. Degree in Chemical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1977.

Robert Migliorini
Sr. Licensing Associate
Yale University

Workshop Overview

This workshop is intended as an introductory primer in patent law and practice for scientists, engineers and managers involved in business and technology. The workshop provides an overview of patent protection and trade secret protection. The workshop also covers the fundamentals of how to identify, and document an invention, search for patents related to the invention, and apply for a patent application. In particular, attendees will become familiar with the types of patent applications, patentability requirements, the parts of a patent application, and the prosecution process for getting a patent application allowed before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Attendees will also become familiar with foreign filing of patent applications, post grant patent options including mechanisms for challenging a U.S. patent before the USPTO, the various types of patent opinions and patent litigation. No prior knowledge of patent law is required.

Agenda is as follows:

Patents – Introduction
Trade secrets
Inventorship
Invention documentation
Types of Patents
Patent procurement process overview
Patent searching
Patentability requirements
U.S. Patent Application Filing Formalities
How to read a U.S. patent publication
Patent application preparation
Patent prosecution
Foreign filing and prosecution
Post grant options
Patent litigation and infringement
Patent opinions

Target Audience

This workshop is for anyone involved in technology development, and business related to new technologies who needs a thorough understanding of intellectual property and in particular patent law fundamentals.

Are you involved in technology development? Learn how to identify, document and protect your inventions through the patenting process. What you think may not be worthy of a patent protection may in fact be an invention that could lead to highly valuable patent that could block your competitors and bring tremendous business value. Learn how to work with patent counsel to effectively prepare, prosecute and file patent applications. Don't let your ideas and technology work go unprotected!

About the Instructor

Robert Migliorini has been teaching a similar type workshop for over 15 years. His experience is as follows: A Senior Licensing Associate in the technology transfer office at Yale University and also an independent Patent Attorney. Prior to that, he worked for 18 years as a Senior IP counsel with Exxon Mobil Corporation where he assisted clients in all aspects of IP law, including patent preparation and prosecution, patent opinions, client counseling, and IP agreements and licensing. He is an author or coauthor of six IP journal articles related to patent law. Prior to becoming an attorney, Robert worked for 17 years for ExxonMobil Chemical Co., Films Business, in a variety of technical, operations and leadership positions. He is also an inventor or coinventor of 14 U.S. patents related to thermoplastic and metallized films. He also has extensive experience in coating, printing, metallizing and laminating technology. He is licensed to practice law in various states and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Robert is also an adjunct law professor at both Pace University School of Law and Quinnipiac University School of Law where he teaches courses in Patent Practice & Procedure and IP Agreements & Licensing to law students.

Maureen Reitman, Sc.D.
Group Vice President & Principal Engineer
Exponent

Len Czuba
President
Czuba Consulting

Workshop Overview

This workshop is intended for engineers, scientists and professionals already in the medical materials field who are looking for fresh insights into recent trends; as well as students, engineers, scientists and professionals who are not currently in the field, or are new to it but who are interested in learning more about medical material fundamentals along with recent trends in the medical materials field. Due to the complexity of the medical technology field, there are many new developments of which engineers, professionals, suppliers, manufacturers and other stakeholders may not be aware. This workshop will help broaden attendees understanding of the field and recent developments. This workshop will be organized into sections addressing (a) industry fundamentals and the evolving regulatory framework, (b) work-horse materials for industry sectors, (c) Industry drivers including sustainability and environmental issues, and (d) emerging materials for the life sciences.

Who is This Workshop Intended for?

This workshop is intended for engineers, scientists and professionals already in the medical materials field who are looking for fresh insights into recent trends; as well as students, engineers, scientists and professionals who are not currently in the field, or are new to it but who are interested in learning more about medical material fundamentals along with recent trends in the medical materials field.

About the Instructors

The listed instructors from the SPE Medical Plastics Division each have multiple decades of experience in the medical plastics and polymers field. We also have a history of developing and delivering timely, technical and business-relevant information to a range of audiences. For example, we have presented at ANTEC®, TOPCONs, MD&M, and other technical shows and trade shows for the last 40 years. The SPE Medical Plastics Division is planning this team-delivered workshop to leverage the combined insight and experience of our instruction panel to provide adynamic and engaging learning experience.

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