Qu Jinping

Performance of filled polymer systems under novel dynamic extrusion processing conditions

Abstract Dynamic extrusion processing experiments have been carried out on PP-CaCO3 and LDPE-CaCO3 blends using an electromagnetic dynamic plasticating extruder and the effects of vibration forcefield on the extrusion processing of lled polymer systems were studied. It is shown that a proper vibration force eld can reduce the extrusion pressure and the extrusion power with the result that the degree of mixing of lled polymer systems is effectively improved compared with a traditional extruder.

Nonaffine network structural model for molten Low-Density polyethylene and High-Density Polyethylene in oscillatory shear

We propose molten polymer’s entanglement network deformation to be nonaffine and use transient network structural theory with the revised Liu’s kinetics rate equation and the revised upper convected Maxwell constitutive equation to establish a nonaffine network structural constitutive model for studying the rheological behavior of molten Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) in oscillatory shear. As a result, when the strain amplitude or frequency increases, the shear stress amplitude increases. At the same time, the accuracy of the nonaffine network model is higher than that of affine network model. It is clear that there is a small amount of nonaffine network deformation for LDPE melts which have long-chain branches, and there is a larger amount of nonaffine network deformation in oscillatory shear for HDPE melts which has no long-chain branches. So we had better consider the network deformation nonaffine when we establish the constitutive equations of polymer melts in oscillatory shear.

Measurement and Analysis of Cavity Pressure and Melt Filling Capacity During Injection Molding

Using an online measure system consisted of a high sensitivity pressure sensor, a spiral channel mold and a data collecting/analysis series. The cavity pressure and flow length response under different injection pressure, injection velocity, mold temperature and different vibration condition was measured and analyzed in this study. The results show that the cavity pressure and flow length increased with the increase of injection pressure, injection velocity and mold temperature. In vibration assisted injection molding (VAIM), the cavity pressure and flow length increased as a result of imposing vibration. The change of amplitude and frequency in VAIM had more distinct effect on flow length than injection pressure. The results also indicate that the measure system established in this study can accurately monitor and record the changes of cavity pressure, and could be used in the study of melts filling capacity in injection molding process.

Influence of pressure oscillation on injection molding process

A self-made vibration-assisted injection molding machine (VAIM) was developed to generate oscillation injection pressure during filling and packing The cavity pressure changes sinusoidal with time during filling and packing in VAIM. The filling time can be shortened with the introduction of oscillation injection pressure. The melt peak of the parts become wider and the melt point move to high temperature with the increase in piston rod vibration amplitude/frequency.

Cavity Pressure Response and Melt Flow Length During Dynamic Injection Molding

Employing a spiral channel mold and a set of cavity pressure measurement equipments from Kistler, the cavity pressure response and the maximum flow length during dynamic injection molding were studied. The processing conditions include injection velocity, injection pressure, mold temperature, vibration frequency, and vibration amplitude. The result shows that the maximum flow length can be improved by the dynamic injection molding. Especially at the lower injection pressure, the maximum flow length can be improved about 15%. From the curves of cavity pressure, we found that the cavity pressure undulated regularly in the dynamic filling phase, which is conduced by the screw vibration. During dynamic injection molding, the viscosity of the polymer flow reduces, and the capability of mold filling improves.

Ultrasound-assisted melt mixing for the preparation of UHMWPE/OMMT nanocomposites

Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/organic montmorillonite (OMMT) nanocomposites were prepared via a self-made vane mixer which could supply a synergy of ultrasound and extensional deformation. Structure and working principle of this novel mixer were illustrated in detail. Effects of the OMMT content, mixing time, and ultrasound treat time on composites’ morphology, rheological properties, and thermal properties were reported in terms of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), wide-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). X-ray diffraction (XRD) and TEM showed that the OMMT lay spacing increased from 2.82 nm to 3.29 nm and OMMT dispersed evenly in the matrix using this novel melt mixing equipment. It certified that the melt mixing procedure synergized by ultrasound and extensional deformation was very effective in the exfoliation of silicate layers and also the filler distribution and dispersion. DSC measurements revealed that the crystallization temperature (T c) had no visible change with increasing the OMMT content and the melting temperature (T m) and melting enthalpy crystallinity (X c) increased with the proper OMMT content. The higher T m and X c showed with the proper ultrasound treatment time, however, the T c had no visible change. TGA showed that the onset temperature at which 20% weight loss of the material increased markedly in the case of UHMWPE/OMMT-1 wt% nanocomposite. The onset temperature slightly decreased with the use of ultrasound. Rheological analyses showed that all the samples exhibited non-Newtonian and shear thinning characteristics. Both the storage modulus and complex viscosity increased with continuous addition of the OMMT layers. It also indicated that the introduction of ultrasound tended to decrease the storage modulus and complex viscosity. Universal tensile test indicated that superior tensile strength occurred in samples containing OMMT layers.

Reactive Flash Simulation of the Continuous Melt Transesterification Process of Polycarbonate

Abstract A model of the continuous melt transesterification process of bisphenol-A and diphenyl carbonate in a continuous stirred tank reactor to produce polycarbonate is presented. The model is developed by using the molecular species model of polycarbonate melt polycondensation and the modeling method of reactive flash. Liquid phase is treated as perfect mixed flow and the vapor phase is assumed following the ideal gas law. With this model, the continuous melt transesterification process of bisphenol-A and diphenyl carbonate is examined with respect to different process parameters.

Analyses of dynamic rheological behavior of polymer melt based on novel experimental equipment and procedures

By introducing a vibrating, force field into the extrusion process of polymer melt, an experimental equipment of constant velocity type dynamic rheometer of capillary (CVDRC) was designed. A set of experimental procedures was established, by which the dynamic rheological parameters of polymer can be acquired, and a set of data management methods to undergo time-domain or frequency-domain analysis was set up for dynamic rheological data of polymer melt. Meantime, the characterization formula of polymer melt’s rheological behavior in a vibrating force field was set up. The instantaneous value of capillary entry pressure, capillary volume flow rate and their phase difference were measured and analyzed, and the melt apparent viscosity, which describes the rheological behavior of polymer melt in a vibrating force field, was obtained.

Rheological properties of PP/CaCO3 micron-nano composite blends processing based on elongation rheology via vane extruder

This work aimed to study, for the first time, the rheological properties of the melt blending of PP/micron-CaCO3 and PP/nano-CaCO3 composite processing based on elongation rheology by a novel vane extruder to toughen PP. The rheological behavior of the blends was studied by capillary rheometer. The results show that: PP/CaCO3 Micron-nano copolymer blends are pseudo plastic fluid. The apparent viscosity initially increases with the increasing of feller. The change of the apparent viscosity also depends on the filler type which proves difference when the blends are on the low shear rate. When the shear rate is low, the apparent shear viscosity of micron-nano composite material is more sensitive to shear rate. For PP/micron-CaCO3 composite blend, the non-Newtonian index shows a trend of gradually increasing. In PP/nano-CaCO3 composite blend, the non-Newtonian index changed little in general with the increase of nano-filler content.

Preparation and properties of PA6/CSW composites via vane extruder

The PA6/CSW composites were prepared with a vane extruder in this work, which is a novel polymer processing equipment dominated by elongational flow field. SEM microphotographs indicate that the whiskers were well dispersed in the polymer matrix under the elongational flow field of the vane extruder.The PA6/CSW composites were also characterized by DSC, Mechanical testing and Rheological measurements. The results show that the PA6/CSW composites have improved their tensile strength and modulus greatly.