Abstract
This chapter is devoted to the presentation of the fundamental rheological properties of polymers and their processing technologies. Measurements of the rheological properties offer a fast and reliable way to determine molecular weight distribution and long-chain branching, which, in combination with the processing conditions, have a decisive influence on the end-use product properties. Shear viscosity, elongational viscosity, normal stress differences, stress relaxation, and some other measures and rheological phenomena, of relevance to polymer processing, are discussed. The most widely used polymer processing technologies of extrusion and injection molding are discussed with some details. The discussion includes key features of equipment used and design and operation challenges. Brief descriptions are presented on calendering, compression molding, blow molding, thermoforming, rotational molding, fiber spinning, and additive manufacturing. It is argued that computer-aided flow analysis and rheological measurements are necessary for equipment design, troubleshooting, and optimization in the processing of thermoplastics.
Abbreviations
- ABS:
-
Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
- AM:
-
Additive manufacturing
- CaBER:
-
Capillary breakup extensional rheometer
- EVA:
-
Ethylene-vinyl acetate
- FDM:
-
Fused deposition modeling
- HDPE:
-
High-density polyethylene
- HLMI:
-
High load melt index
- LAOS:
-
Large amplitude oscillatory shear
- LDPE:
-
Low-density polyethylene
- LLDPE:
-
Linear low-density polyethylene
- LVE:
-
Linear viscoelasticity
- MFI:
-
Melt flow index
- MFR:
-
Melt flow rate
- MI:
-
Melt index
- MWD:
-
Molecular weight distribution
- OEMs:
-
Original equipment manufacturers
- PA:
-
Polyamide
- PC:
-
Polycarbonate
- PE:
-
Polyethylene
- PET:
-
Polyethylene terephthalate
- PP:
-
Polypropylene
- PLA:
-
Polylactic acid
- PMMA:
-
Polymethyl methacrylate
- PS:
-
Polystyrene
- PVC:
-
Polyvinyl chloride
- RIM:
-
Reaction injection molding
- RPM:
-
Revolutions per minute
- SAOS:
-
Small amplitude oscillatory shear
- SER:
-
Sentmanat extensional rheometer
- SLS:
-
Selective laser sintering
- SMEs:
-
Small and medium enterprises
- SSE:
-
Single screw extruder
- TSE:
-
Twin screw extruder
- WFC:
-
Wood fiber composite
- α :
-
Fitting parameter in Carreau-Yasuda model
- γ :
-
Strain
- \( \dot{\gamma} \) :
-
Shear rate
- \( {\dot{\gamma}}_{\mathrm{app}} \) :
-
Shear rate (apparent)
- \( {\dot{\gamma}}_{\mathrm{true}} \) :
-
Shear rate (true)
- \( {\dot{\gamma}}_w \) :
-
Wall shear rate
- ΔP:
-
Pressure drop
- ΔPe:
-
Excess pressure drop
- \( \dot{\varepsilon} \) :
-
Elongation rate
- η :
-
Viscosity
- η c :
-
Viscosity of the filled system
- η d :
-
Viscosity of the dispersed phase
- η e :
-
Elongational viscosity
- η m :
-
Viscosity of the matrix
- η o :
-
Zero shear viscosity
- η * :
-
Complex viscosity
- η ref :
-
Viscosity at a reference temperature
- θ :
-
Screw helix angle
- λ :
-
Fitting parameter in Carreau-Yasuda, cross models
- ρ :
-
Melt density
- σ 11 :
-
Tensile stress
- τ :
-
Shear stress
- τ w :
-
Wall shear stress
- φ :
-
Volume fraction
- φ max :
-
Maximum volume fraction
- ω :
-
Frequency
- A :
-
Area
- A c :
-
Cross section of a cylindrical fluid element
- a :
-
Pressure coefficient
- b :
-
Temperature sensitivity coefficient
- Ca :
-
Capillary number
- d :
-
Extrudate diameter
- D :
-
Capillary diameter
- D b :
-
Barrel diameter
- E :
-
Activation energy
- F :
-
Force
- G′ :
-
Storage modulus
- G″ :
-
Loss modulus
- h :
-
Gap between plates
- H :
-
Channel depth in an extruder
- H o :
-
Minimum distance between two rollers
- k :
-
Einstein coefficient frequently denoted as [η]
- K :
-
Consistency index
- L :
-
Capillary length
- M w :
-
Weight average molecular weight
- N :
-
Rotational speed
- N 1 :
-
First normal stress difference
- N 1w :
-
First normal stress difference at the wall
- N 2 :
-
Second normal stress difference
- n :
-
Power law index
- n B :
-
Bagley correction
- p :
-
Pressure
- P max :
-
Maximum pressure in calendering
- Q :
-
Volume rate of flow
- R :
-
Gas constant
- R c :
-
Capillary radius
- R d :
-
Drop radius
- R rol :
-
Roller radius
- S :
-
Interfacial tension
- S R :
-
Stress ratio
- t :
-
Time
- T :
-
Temperature
- T ref :
-
Reference temperature
- U :
-
Velocity/speed
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Polychronopoulos, N.D., Vlachopoulos, J. (2019). Polymer Processing and Rheology. In: Jafar Mazumder, M., Sheardown, H., Al-Ahmed, A. (eds) Functional Polymers. Polymers and Polymeric Composites: A Reference Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92067-2_4-1
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