Elias Hage Junior

Toughening of PBT by ABS, SBS and HIPS systems and the effects of reactive functionalised copolymers

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) has been toughened by the addition of different impact modifiers such as acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer (SBS), high impact polystyrene (HIPS) and HIPS/SBS systems with and without reactive compatibilising copolymer. PBT/ABS blends have been modified by methyl methacrylate-co-glycidil methacrylate copolymer (MMA-GMA) and the systems PBT/HIPS and PBT/SBS where modified by an in situ compatibiliser of styrene-co-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer (S-GMA). Addition of ABS A, ABS B, SBS and HIPS/SBS systems at high content of SBS, was very effective in increase the ability of PBT in absorb impact energy. Incorporation of HIPS to PBT at any level did not improve impact strength of the PBT matrix. By adding the acrylic copolymer to the PBT/ABS blends, the high impact strength behaviour of the blends observed at room temperature, has been extended to temperatures well below the room temperature. The effects of addition of reactive copolymer to the morphology of PBT/ABS blends have been studied. The results show the strong influence of the acrylic copolymer in controlling the phase morphology of the system studied. Addition of the styrene-co-glycidil methacrylate copolymer to the 50/25/25 PBT/HIPS/SBS system did not promote a significant decrease in the ductile-brittle transition behaviour for this blend. In fact, incorporation of the high glycidil methacrylate content styrenic compatibiliser has turned the system into brittle over the temperature range studied, i.e., the ductile-brittle transition has been suppressed.

Interfacial Tension of PBT/SAN Blends by the Drop Retraction Method

The aim of this work was to evaluate the interfacial tension from the poly(butylene terephtalate) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) (PBT/SAN) interface region using the drop retraction method. SAN filaments were sandwiched between two PBT films; the whole system was heated up to 240 °C, in a hot stage coupled to an optical microscope. The rheological parameters of the PBT/SAN system were obtained by parallel plates rheometry. An increase of the interfacial tension with the PBT molecular weight was observed with values between 0.57 and 1.06 mN/m, depending on the molecular weight. Theoretical values were calculated using the geometric-mean and harmonic-mean equations and were found to be similar to the experimental results. Viscosity measurements showed that the higher the SAN/PBT viscosity ratio, the lower the interfacial tension of these blends.

The effect of extrusion conditions and the use of a compatibilizer in the crystallization of PBT/ABS blends

Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/ acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) terpolymer blends were prepared in a twin screw extruder and the use of methyl methacrylate-glycidyl methacrylate-ethyl acrylate (MGE) terpolymer as compatibilization additive was evaluated. The effect of different screw profiles and mixing conditions were evaluated on the crystallization of the blends. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used to evaluate melting and crystallization behaviors of the PBT/ABS blends. The binary PBT/ABS blend has shown a double melting peak when cooled at lower cooling rates, mainly due to its melt-recrystallization during the heating up step. ABS has not affected the melting characteristics of neat PBT. The presence of MGE, as a reactive compatibilizer, in the PBT/ABS blends has reduced its heat of fusion and has partially inhibited its melt-recrystallization under heating. As result, it has prevented the occurrence of double melting peak. The epoxy functional groups of the MGE may react in situ to the carbonyls and hydroxyls end groups of the PBT molecules, thereby hindering the mobility of PBT molecules during the crystallization process due to its grafting to the compatibilizer molecules. The melt mixed blends prepared at lower feeding rate have shown a higher degree of crystallinity for the PBT/ABS blend, probably due to degradation of PBT caused by longer residence time in the extruder. The highest shear stress imposed to the blends at higher screw speed increased the degree of crystallinity of PBT, also due to its degradation.

Propriedades Mecânicas de Blendas de Nylon-6/Acrilonitrila-EPDM-Estireno (AES) Compatibilizadas com Copolímero Acrílico Reativo (MMA-MA)

Blends of nylon-6 with acrylonitrile/EPDM/styrene (AES) using a series of methyl methacrylate-maleic anhydride (MMA-MA) copolymers as compatibilizing agents were prepared. The maleic anhydride (MA) units in the copolymers are capable to react with the nylon-6 end groups. The MMA-MA copolymer has a potencial to form in situ copolymers at the blend interface during melt processing as indicated by torque rheometry tests. This study focuses on the effects of functionality and concentration of the reactive maleic anhydride units of the compatibilizer on the mechanical properties of these blends. The results show that incorporation of the MMA-MA copolymer significantly improves the impact strength of nylon-6/AES blends. The blend containing 1.3wt% of MA in the copolymer is supertough at room temperature, and remains tough at subzero temperatures.

Estudo de viabilidade da soldagem de termoplásticos por "Friction Spot Welding" (FSpW)

The modern thermoplastics show a wide range of engineering applications, mainly due to its good processability and properties, such as stress-to-weight ratio and toughness. However, the manufacturing of larger products with complex geometries require advanced polymer welding techniques. Friction Spot Welding (FSpW) is a joining technique allowing the fabrication of joint with good mechanical properties. In this work, the feasibility of the FSpW of thermoplastics was investigated in polymethyl-methacrilate (PMMA), an amorphous thermoplastic with increasing importance in the airspace and automotive industry due to its good processability, weldability, aging and chemical resistance. The welded samples were analyzed by optical microscopy and Vickers microhardness measurements and mechanically tested. Lap-shear testing showed ultimate shear resistance values of about 9,5 MPa, which were similar or higher than values obtained through current PMMA welding techniques, such as microwave welding, ultrasonic welding and thermal bonding. Therefore, the present work was able to demonstrate the potential of FSpW as an alternative welding process for thermoplastics.

Comportamento mecânico e termo-mecânico de blendas poliméricas PBT/ABS

ABSTRACT: Polymer blends of poly(butylene terephthalate), PBT, and three grades of Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene copolymer, ABS, were studied. Polymer blends were characterized by impact resistance, tensile strength and heat deflection temperature tests. It was observed a stronger influence of the chemical composition of the ABS resin on the blends properties, mainly for the blends with higher ABS content which show better properties, than the phase composition of the ABS. It was observed that low levels of ABS in the blends promote mainly a high increase in HDT at the same level of impact resistance, as compared to neat PBT. On the other hand, low levels of PBT in the blend basically keep all the properties at the same level except the impact resistance which shows a significant decrease.

Rheological, mechanical and morphological properties of poly(methyl methacrylate)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blend with dual reactive interfacial compatibilization

In this work, the rheological, mechanical and morphological behavior of immiscible blend poly (methyl methacrylate) with elastomeric particles (PMMAelast) and post-consumer poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) with and without the use of the interfacial compatibilizer poly (methyl methacrylate-co-glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethyl acrylate) (MGE) was studied. The significant increase in torque presented in rheological analyses has shown a indication of chemical reactions between the epoxy group of MGE with end groups of PET chains and also with the elastomeric phase of PMMAelast. The increased concentration of PET yielded an increase in maximum strength and elasticity modulus and a decrease in elongation at break. The PMMAelast/PET binary blend (50/50 wt%) and PMMAelast/PET/MGE compatibilized blend (65/30/5 wt%) showed pronounced results in elongation at break compared to PMMAelast, whereas, in the first results were due to the evidence of a co-continuous morphological structure and in the second, due to the efficiency of the dual reactive interfacial compatibilization of PMMAelast/PET blends. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses showed that PMMAelast/PET/MGE blends exhibit complex phase morphology due to the presence of elastomeric particles in the PMMAelast copolymer and in the use of MGE terpolymer.

Tenacidade à fratura de blendas PA 6/ABS avaliada através do método EWF (Trabalho Essencial de Fratura) - parte a: avaliação do efeito do compatibilizante

Polyamide 6 or polycaprolactam is a semi-crystalline thermoplastic whose toughness is very notch sensitive and consequently the material presents extreme susceptibility to stress concentrations. Thus, although such polyamides may fracture on a typical ductile manner on mechanical testing without notches, it will become brittle after being notched. The pseudo-ductile behavior in polyamides poses a task on notch and pre-crack preparation, for accurate assessment of their toughness. Furthermore, it must be observed the ideal specimen dimensions to guarantee plane stress conditions on tensile testing for application of the EWF (Essential Work of Fracture) method. In the present work, the EWF method was employed to evaluate the fracture toughness of PA6 blends modified with ABS and also to assess the efficiency of a self-made reactive acrylic compatibilizer (MMA-MA), on the toughness of the PA6/ABS blend. The EWF parameters have shown that by simply melt blending ABS with PA6 it increases the specific work of fracture owing to reduced notch sensitivity of the blend, although at the expenses of the blend capacity to absorb plastic energy. The addition of the compatibilizer MMA-MA to the blend has been reflected on increments of the specific work of fracture and recovery of the blend capacity to absorb plastic energy. The results have illustrated the applicability of the EWF method for determination of the fracture toughness parameters of polymer blends as well as evaluation of the effect of the reactive MMA-MA compatibilizer on the toughness of the PA6/ABS blend.