I. Coccorullo

Crystallization kinetics and solidified structure in iPP under high cooling rates

Abstract A wide set of isothermal and non-isothermal crystallization experiments were carried out in this work on an iPP resin. Several experimental techniques were adopted in order to characterize crystallization kinetics and final morphology of the material, also under cooling rates comparable to those encountered during material processing (up to several hundred K/s). The whole set of data was taken as a reference to identify a kinetic model which describes the evolution of the structural organization of iPP (α crystalline phase and mesomorphic phase) as a parallel of two non-interacting kinetic processes competing for the available amorphous volume. Kolmogoroff equation was adopted to describe the crystallization of the α form. Avrami–Evans–Nakamura isokinetic approach was adopted to describe the evolution of the mesomorphic phase. Resulting kinetic model satisfactorily describes the whole set of experimental data including those obtained on samples solidified under high cooling rates, and reveals that a correct description of the evolution of the α phase during solidification can be attained only if the evolution of the competing mesomorphic phase is kept into account. The effect of cooling rate during solidification from the melt on diameters of spherulites, observed on solidified samples, is also satisfactorily described by model predictions.

Morphology of injection moulded iPP samples

Morphology (in terms of distribution along thickness of crystallinity degree, molecular orientation and dimensions of spherulites) was characterised by adopting different experimental techniques, and analysed with reference to the solidification conditions. Morphological characteristics of the samples were compared with the predictions of a simulation code developed at University of Salerno. In internal layers, calculations provide a satisfactorily description of data. In layers closer to sample skin, results show a large effect of molecular orientation on crystallisation kinetics of alpha phase.

Evolution of Morphology of iPP in Processing Conditions

Abstract A model for crystallization kinetics that accounts for the formation of different crystalline phases and is able to describe the morphological characteristics of samples solidified under quiescent conditions, has been enriched to account for the effect of solidification pressure. The effect of pressure was considered by assuming a linear increase of melting and glass transition temperatures (which are involved in the description of the growth rate and nucleation density of the alpha phase). Moreover, pressure was incorporated in the kinetic constant adopted to describe the evolution of the mesomorphic phase. The parameters of the model were identified on the basis of literature data on the distribution of crystalline phases in samples solidified under different pressures. The modified model also satisfactorily described PVT curves up to 100 MPa, and is now able to describe the evolution of morphology during solidification at cooling rates as fast as several hundreds of Kelvin degrees per second and under pressures of as high as 100 MPa.

Morphology Evolution during Injection Molding: effect of packing pressure

Injection molding is one of the most widely employed methods for manufacturing polymeric products. The final properties and the quality of an injection molded part are to a great extent affected by morphology. Thus, the prediction of microstructure formation is of technological importance, also for optimizing processing variables, in order to cut down on the expensive costs of tooling and the trial‐and‐error procedures. In this work, some injection molding tests were performed with the aim of studying the effects of packing pressure on morphology distribution. The resulting morphology of the moldings was in fact characterized by adopting different experimental techniques and, in order to underline the effects of holding pressure, it was compared with previous results gathered on samples obtained applying a lower holding pressure. Furthermore, the molding tests were simulated by means of a code developed at University of Salerno, which implements procedures able to model molecular orientation, crystallizat...