The SPE Library contains thousands of papers, presentations, journal briefs and recorded webinars from the best minds in the Plastics Industry. Spanning almost two decades, this collection of published research and development work in polymer science and plastics technology is a wealth of knowledge and information for anyone involved in plastics.
Processability is a critical performance parameter when developing thermoplastic formulations for injection molding applications. This paper describes various on-line methods for quantifying processability and compares the results with off-line rheological methods.
Surfaces of the automobile are damaged in various
forms due to external forces. The most common damage is
scratch. It is not only a physical damage but also a fatal
failure in an aesthetic point of view. Scratch damages are
often observed on the clearcoat, which is the top layer of
the automotive paint. In this study, scratch tests were
conducted to evaluate the scratch resistances of various
types of clearcoat layers. ASTM D7027 standard was
modified to observe scratch damage more clearly.
This paper highlights the use of organic pigments, pearlescent effects and metallic pigments in the design of decorative materials for sensitive plastics applications. Examples of sensitive applications include food packaging and toys, as well as, cosmetic packaging, pharmaceutical applications and medical devices.
This paper will review a number of plastic part design pitfalls which came to a head when a little boy was badly burned after his digital watch caught fire and partially burned. The product was designed in the US and mass produced in China. The design of the product was improper, however the tool design and execution made it worse.
Using two established measurements, the combination thereof rolled into one instrument and one measurement, is herewith covered. A Melt Indexer and an Elongation Tester put together, greatly enhance the usefulness of each test result by itself, while saving much time compared to running tests individually. GOETTFERT has many years of experience with both individual tests and developed the D-MELT in close cooperation with a customer, who has many years of experience with a similar design mix.
Introduction
There are several approaches to extending food life including but not limited to; Oxygen Scavengers, Anti-Microbials, UV Blockers and Absorbers, as well as Multi-Layer Films.
No single additive has been found that will effectively address the various food products and by-product from rotting food and extending the life and taste of food. We Utilize two products which in combination slow the degradation of food and the spoilage cycle.
The distribution and quantity of laser energy reaching the weld interface are both important for predicting the quality of a laser-transmission weld. A Monte-Carlo model for simulating the path of laser light through light-scattering plastic parts has been developed and validated. The model accounts for absorption, scattering, and reflection in the transparent polymer. The model outputs include the transmittance of the inputted laser light as well as the energy density distribution at the weld interface.
Innovative products are recognized by designs which have creatively applied a new technology or when a common utilitarian product is been reinvented to reenergize its market appeal. This case study will describe the development of a unique medical device based on the interdependency of industrial design and plastics engineering to yield an award-winning design that could only be attained by a comprehensive integration of these two disciplines.
A tri-layer simulation study utilizing ANSYS Polyflow was conducted in an attempt to understand the effect of the material parameters, namely viscosity and elasticity ratios, on center layer thickness and stability under annular flow. During the study, it was determined that inflow boundary conditions also had a considerable impact on the thickness trends observed. Results of two different inflow boundaries and four material parameter conditions are presented and discussed within.
Environmentally friendly PVD on plastics for automotive decoration are rapidly gaining acceptance. They replace galvanic processes, eliminating their toxic process and waste stream for plating on plastic (POP). VTI’s SuperChrome has already received approvals from Daimler and PSA. Part design for PVD, polymer selection, and available range of color and appearance will be discussed. OEM specifications based on testing, unique to PVD and distinct from both electroplate and painted surfaces are required.
Biobased and biodegradable polymers are well suited to agricultural applications where hey can be left in the field to degrade into innocuous byproducts. These polymers are lso widely used for biomedical controlled release. However, the properties and egradation rates are not necessarily suitable for the environmental conditions and utrient demand of plants. In this work, two different biodegradable polyesters are repared and contrasted in terms of their diffusion and degradation rates.
Thermal analysis techniques, such as DSC, TGA, DMA and TMA are commonly used in polymer characterization. In this paper these techniques with the help of Identify, a database search software, are used to characterize recycled polymer compounds for preselection.
This study evaluated polymer composites produced from recycled PA6 and PP blend with bamboo fiber. Blends of bamboo fiber were used as received, as well as heat treated. It was observed that heat treatment at 160ºC/180ºC improved the tensile and impact properties of the composite compared to untreated fiber composite. The goal of the study was to produce a thermally stable, lightweight composite suitable for under-hood applications.
Injection molding with bio-based and/or bio-filled resins is becoming more commonplace as the plastics industry responds to the environmental and sustainable desires of the economy. This paper presents some intricacies of part design and processing developments when injection molding with bio-based and bio-filled resins.
Value added cost effective and sustainable polyamide 6 and 66 compounds were prepared by incorporating 10 to 30% recycle content without significantly sacrificing physical properties. This was achieved by reactive extrusion with chain extending additives to couple low molecular weight chains in recycled feed streams. Three types of chain extending additives with different functionalities were evaluated in this study. Based on the performance and cost, one of the chain extending additive was identified as the best option.
Transient uniaxial elongational viscosity for binary blends composed of conventional isotactic polypropylene with linear structure (PP) and low-density polyethylene produced in an autoclave reactor (LDPE) was evaluated. The blends were prepared by melt-mixing to make PP as the continuous phase. Although LDPE exists as dispersed droplets, it was found that the LDPE addition provides the strain-hardening in transient elongational viscosity for PP. During elongational flow, LDPE droplets dispersed in the PP matrix were deformed in the flow direction because the viscosity of LDPE used is lower than that of PP. As increasing the strain, however, the deformed LDPE droplets act as rigid fibers due to its strain-hardening behavior. Consequently, the PP matrix located between the fibrous LDPE droplets is deformed greatly during elongational flow. This excess localized deformation is responsible for the strain-hardening in the transient elongational viscosity for the blends.
Safety for patient and user is an essential requirement for medical products. Subsequently, plastics grades used in medical have to fulfil particular requirements, i.e. constant properties, formulation lock or biocompatibility. Surprisingly, no standard has existed to define the requirements for medical grades so far. This gap has been filled recently by the new guideline VDI 2017 developed and launched by a work group of the German Engineer’s Society (VDI). This article addresses the development of the new guideline and presents the essential requirements to be covered by a medical grade.
Although not fully understood it is well recognized
that optimal working of glass fiber sizings is necessary to
maximize the performance of glass fiber reinforced
polymer composites. However, test results indicate that
the performance of polypropylene compatible glass fiber
sizing can be significantly compromised by thermooxidative
degradation at normal composite processing
temperatures. Results obtained using TGA, DSC,
microbond adhesion measurement and composite
mechanical testing indicate that a significant reduction in
composite performance is directly related to a loss of
fiber-matrix adhesion caused by thermal degradation of
some of the principal sizing components.
An advanced Finite Element Method (FEM) based transient pellet heat transfer model with crystallization kinetics is developed to better understand the cooling requirements for a clean pellet cut during polyethylene manufacturing. This model considers conduction/convective heat transfer in and around a polymer pellet with enthalpy changes, considering a pellet of spheroid shape surrounded by a cooling water off constant temperature. The model further accounts for the changes in stiffness or elastic modulus obtained from rheological measurements using multi-wave oscillatory test during cooling/crystallization stages of the polymer.
A series of simulations were performed to understand the effects of several parameters such as resin architecture/formulation, crystallization kinetics, initial molten pellet temperature, water inlet temperature, water to pellet ratio (i.e., water flow rate) and pellet dimensions. It was found that for resins of similar Melt Index (MI) and density, the differences in structural characteristics can significantly affect the pelletization process and pellet cut. This model may serve as a strong tool for efficient design, operation and troubleshooting of downstream equipment (e.g. pelletizer, cutter, Pellet Conveying Water (PCW) system, stripper etc.) through understanding of the effects of molecular architecture of the resins and/or optimization of various processing and operating conditions.
To understand transient cell size patterns in extruded foams, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling was used to map temperature, velocity, and pressure in a foamable mixture traveling through a simplified heat exchanger geometry. A comparison was made between cases of clean and partially plugged heat exchanger device. The analysis revealed that the predicted inhomogeneities of temperature, pressure, and velocity do not correlate with the observed cell size pattern. However, residence time maps showed clear similitude with the observed pattern, in particular for geometries simulating partial plugging of the individual heat exchanger channels.
Kim McLoughlin Senior Research Engineer, Global Materials Science Braskem
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Kim drives technology programs at Braskem to develop advanced polyolefins with improved recyclability and sustainability. As Principal Investigator on a REMADE-funded collaboration, Kim leads a diverse industry-academic team that is developing a process to recycle elastomers as secondary feedstock. Kim has a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cornell. She is an inventor on more than 25 patents and applications for novel polyolefin technologies. Kim is on the Board of Directors of SPE’s Thermoplastic Materials & Foams Division, where she has served as Education Chair and Councilor.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Gamini has a BS and PhD from Purdue University in Materials Engineering and Sustainability. He joined Penn State as a Post Doctorate Scholar in 2020 prior to his professorship appointment. He works closely with PA plastics manufacturers to implement sustainability programs in their plants.
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Tom Giovannetti holds a Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Tulsa and for the last 26 years has worked for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. Tom started his plastics career by designing various injection molded products for the chemical industry including explosion proof plugs and receptacles, panel boards and detonation arrestors for 24 inch pipelines. Tom also holds a patent for design of a polyphenylene sulfide sleeve in a nylon coolant cross-over of an air intake manifold and is a Certified Plastic Technologist through the Society of Plastic Engineers. Tom serves on the Oklahoma Section Board as Councilor, is also the past president of the local Oklahoma SPE Section, and as well serves on the SPE Injection Molding Division board.
Joseph Lawrence, Ph.D. Senior Director and Research Professor University of Toledo
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Dr. Joseph Lawrence is a Research Professor and Senior Director of the Polymer Institute and the Center for Materials and Sensor Characterization at the University of Toledo. He is a Chemical Engineer by training and after working in the process industry, he has been engaged in polymers and composites research for 18+ years. In the Polymer Institute he leads research on renewably sourced polymers, plastics recycling, and additive manufacturing. He is also the lead investigator of the Polyesters and Barrier Materials Research Consortium funded by industry. Dr. Lawrence has advised 20 graduate students, mentored 8 staff scientists and several undergraduate students. He is a peer reviewer in several journals, has authored 30+ peer-reviewed publications and serves on the board of the Injection Molding Division of SPE.
Matt Hammernik Northeast Account Manager Hasco America
A Resin Supplier’s Perspective on Partnerships for the Circular Economy
About the Speaker
Matt Hammernik serves as Hasco America’s Northeast Area Account Manager covering the states Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He started with Hasco America at the beginning of March 2022. Matt started in the Injection Mold Industry roughly 10 years ago as an estimator quoting injection mold base steel, components and machining. He advanced into outside sales and has been serving molders, mold builders and mold makers for about 7 years.
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How to reference articles from the SPE Library:
Any article that is cited in another manuscript or other work is required to use the correct reference style. Below is an example of the reference style for SPE articles:
Brown, H. L. and Jones, D. H. 2016, May.
"Insert title of paper here in quotes,"
ANTEC 2016 - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA May 23-25, 2016. [On-line].
Society of Plastics Engineers, ISBN: 123-0-1234567-8-9, pp. 000-000.
Available: www.4spe.org.
Note: if there are more than three authors you may use the first author's name and et al. EG Brown, H. L. et al.
