Polymer Engineering and Science articles from February 2009

Polymer Engineering and Science archives from February 2009

Investigation on morphology and mechanical properties of polyamide 6/maleated ethylene-propylene-diene rubber/organoclay composites.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In recent years, the use of layered silicates as fillers in polymers has attracted significant academic and industrial interests due to the ability to achieve dramatic improvements in mechanical and thermal properties at very...

Orientated crystallization in drawn thermoplastic polyimide modified by carbon nanofibers.(Report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polyimides (PIs) are well-known and extensively studied thermally stable polymers (1) that are widely used in different industries as high performance polymer materials because of their extremely high thermal, chemical, and...

Preparation and characterization of pore wall-functionalized three-dimensionally ordered macroporous syndiotactic polystyrene.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) materials, ranging from metals, metal oxides, carbon, and silica to polymer (1-5), have attracted increasing attention due to their rich potential in a variety of application,...

Modeling of complex parison formation in extrusion blow molding: effect of medium to large die heads and fuel tank geometry.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Extrusion blow molding is a low-cost and efficient manufacturing technique for complex hollow parts (1), including automotive fuel tanks. This process consists of three main phases, namely, parison formation, parison...

Dynamic characteristics of plug-assist thermoforming process.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Polymer processing for production of all forms of polymeric articles has found a great place in chemical industries. Thermoforming process is one of the most popular techniques in this field. It applies to thermoplastic sheet...

Ultrasonic diagnosis of the single screw behavior during extrusion--a case study.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION "The extruder is indisputably the most important piece of machinery in the polymer processing industry" [l]. The single-screw extruder (SSE) has been used in the 18-th century in Italy for the manufacture of pasta, and a...

A modeling approach to the effect of resin characteristics on parison formation in extrusion blow molding.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION The first step in the extrusion blow-molding process is the extrusion of a parison of molten polymer. The extruded parison is then inflated to take on the shape of the surrounding mold and finally the part is cooled and...

Preparation and morphology of high-performance exfoliated poly(sodium acrylate)/hydrotalcite nanocomposite superabsorbents.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Superabsorbents are loosely crosslinked hydrophilic polymers that can absorb a large amount of water compared with general water-absorbing materials, in which the absorbed water is hardly removable, even with some pressure....

Poly(methacrylic acid)-modified chitosan for enhancement adsorption of water-soluble cationic dyes.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Cationic dyes known as basic dyes are widely used for dyeing of textile fibers such as cotton and polyester. These chemical materials often pose certain health hazards and environmental pollution. Therefore, environmental...

Influences of blend proportions and curing systems on dynamic, mechanical, and morphological properties of dynamically cured epoxidized natural rubber/high-density polyethylene blends.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION A thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is defined as a polymeric material with properties and functional performance similar to those of a conventional vulcanized rubber. Also, it can be processed using thermoplastic processing...

Characterization and control of plastic deformation in mesoscale premolded components to realize in-mold assembled mesoscale revolute joints.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION 3D articulated devices involve moving parts with significant out-of-plane motion. There are many applications such as hard disks, cameras, photonics, cell phones, micro air vehicles, and drug delivery systems where the ability...

Rapid thermal cycling with low thermal inertia tools.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Many thermoplastic manufacturing processes, such as molding and forming, involve repetitive cycles of heating, filling, cooling, and ejection. Rapid heating and cooling of the tool is always desirable for improved product...

Effects of clay and POSS nanoparticles on the quiescent and shear-induced crystallization behavior of high molecular weight poly(ethylene terephthalate).(polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes)(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Recently, organic-inorganic hybrid systems have been widely studied because of synergistic effects on the physical properties (1). The introduction of nanosized inorganic materials is expected to increase the mechanical,...

Effects of vinyltrimethoxy silane on mechanical properties and morphology of polypropylene-woodflour composites.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Interest in the use of woodflour as a filler in thermoplastics has increased because of the many advantages offered, including low density, high strength and stiffness of the final product, and the low cost of woodflour (an...

Investigation of the relationships between die build up and die swell.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Die face build up is a common problem encountered in polymer processing. During extrusion, material accumulates around the die exit and is referred to as "die face build-up," die lip build-up," or "die drool." Die build up...

Visual perception and measurements of texture and gloss of injection-molded plastics.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION The appearance is of increasing importance and concern in the production of premium products since it is strongly connected to the perception of quality. In the particular case of the interior of an automobile, the consistency...

Optimal design of the coat-hanger die used for producing melt-blown fabrics by finite element method and evolution strategies.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Melt blowing is a one-step process to produce nonwoven fabrics from polymers. It has become an important and rapid growing textile industrial technique because of its ability to produce the fabrics with ultrafine fibrous...

Graft polymerization of N-tert-butylacrylamide onto polypropylene during melt extrusion and biocidal properties of its products.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Isotactic polypropylene (PP) is a chemically inert, easy to process and inexpensive polymer and has been widely used in geotextiles, medical textiles, and medical devices. In spite of all the advantages of PP, nonpolar...

Pea starch-based composite films with pea hull fibers and pea hull fiber-derived nanowhiskers.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Cellulose-based fibers, e.g., wood, cotton, flax, hemp, ramie, and sisal, have been used extensively as fillers to prepare polymeric composites with reduced cost, good biodegradability, or improved properties (1-3). Since...

Structure and properties of poly(ethylene oxide)-organo clay nanocomposite prepared via melt mixing.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION In the last decade, the preparation and material properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites (PCN) have been a subject of considerable interest because of the property enhancement, which may be realized in these systems (1),...

Effects of the spin line temperature profile and melt index of poly(propylene) on melt-electrospinning.(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Nanofibers can be made by an electrospinning method that applies electrical force upon a polymer solution, a method patented by Antonin Formhals in 1934 (1). Much research on this method has been reported (2-18) with most of...

Isothermal crystallization kinetics of poly(phenylene sulfide)/TLCP composites.(thermotropic liquid crystalline copolyester)(Technical report)
February 1, 2009... INTRODUCTION Blending thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (TLCP) with thermpoplastics permits the design of new high-performance composite materials with high strength and stiffness. During the composite processing, the mesogenic...