• Elastomers and Composites
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.131-141
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• 2004

The recycling of waste XLPE(crosslinked polyethylene), which is a major source of scraps from high voltage power transmission cables, has been discussed. The waste XLPE scraps were ground into fine powder with various sizes from less than $100{\mu}m$ up to about $1000{\mu}m$ using two types of tailor-made pulverizers. The compounds were prepared in a modular intermeshing co-rotating twin screw extruder at various conditions such as different compositions, types and powder sizes of waste XLPE, screw configurations and various polymer matrices (LDPE, HDPE, PP, PS). The mechanical and rheological properties and the fracture surface or the compounds were investigated. It was found that an improved impact strength was obtained from the compound with white XLPE powder pulverized from the scraps without outer/inner semi-conductive layers. Generally, the impact strength increases with the content of XLPE but decreases with the size of XLPE. Especially for LDPE, the extrusion was possible up to 80 wt% loading of XLPE. Also, the impact strength increases with the number of kneading disc blocks in the given screw configurations. The melt viscosity of the compounds increases with increasing XLPE loading. However, the higher shear thinning behavior of the compounds at common shear rates implies proper processibility of the compounds. In addition, the impact strength for other polymer matrices used increases with XLPE and it is noticeable that the impact strength of PS/XLPE (80/20 wt%) compound was improved twice that of pure PS.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• 제37권4호
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• pp.494-499
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• 2013

Modified polypropylene (m-PP) was fabricated by furfuryl sulphide (FS) as branching agent and m-PP/nano-filler composites were prepared with silicate and multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), using a twin screw extruder. The chemical structures and thermal properties of the m-PP were investigated by FTIR and DSC. The chemical structure of the m-PP was confirmed by the existence of =C-H stretching peak of the branching agent at 3100 $cm^{-1}$. There was no district change in melting temperature in case of m-PP, but a certain increase in crystallization temperature was notified and the increase was in the range of $10-20^{\circ}C$. The rheological properties, filler dispersion and foaming behaviors of the m-PP/nano-filler composites were investigated by dynamic rheometer, X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning/transmission electron microscope (SEM/TEM). m-PP/nano-filler composites showed a high complex viscosity at a low frequency, an increase in melt elasticity, and a high shear thinning effect. Compared to pure PP, m-PP and m-PP/nano-filler composites were sufficient to enhance the foaming behavior.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.24-30
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• 2014

3-Amino-1,2,4-triazole (ATA) (2.5 and 5.0 phr) was incorporated into a immiscible maleated ethylene propylene diene rubber(mEPDM)/maleated high density polyethylene(mHDPE) (50 wt%/50 wt%) blend by melt mixing. Effects of the ATA on structure, mechanical and rheological properties of the blend was investigated. FT-IR and DMA results revealed that supramolecular hydrogen bonding interactions between the polymer chains occur by reaction of ATA with maleic anhydride grafted onto the component polymers in the blend, which induces the physical crosslinks in the blend. FE-SEM analysis showed that mEPDM forms a dispersed phase in continuous mHDPE matrix, and the blend with the ATA has finer phase morphology as compared to the blend without the ATA. By the addition of ATA in the blend, there were significant increases in tensile strength, modulus and elongation-at-break as well as elastic recoverability. Melt rheology studies revealed that ATA induced substantial increase in storage modulus and complex viscosity of the blend at the melt state.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.116-120
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• 2014

Light cycle oil (LCO), one of the by-products of the catalytic cracking gasoline manufacturing process, contains a lot of valuable aromatics. In particular, 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene (2,6-DMN) contained in LCO has been becoming important as the basic material of polyethylene naphthalate plastic and liquid crystal polymer, etc. If it were possible to separate and purify the valuable aromatic hydrocarbons (such as 2,6-DMN) from LCO, which have only been used as fuel mixed with heavy oil, it would be very meaningful in terms of the efficient use of resources. We investigated the high-purity purification of 2,6-DMN by the combined method of melt crystallization (MC) and solute crystallization (SC). The enriched DMN isomer mixtures (concentration of 2,6-DMN : 10.43%) recovered from LCO by distillation-extraction combination and the crystal recovered by MC used as raw materials of MC and SC, respectively. The solvent of SC used was a mixture of methanol and acetone (60 : 40 wt%). The crystal of 2,6-DMN with a high-purity of 99.5% was recovered by MC-SC combination. We confirmed that the MC-SC combination was one of the very useful combinations for the high-purity purification of 2,6-DMN contained in the enriched DMN isomer mixtures.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.29-37
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• 2000

In this study as a basic research of the elastomer, we show the results of the behavior of the two different chain length polymers in the melt confined between two impenetrable planes. The cubic lattice simulations are conducted in the canonical ensemble with a method that is a combination of reptation and crackshaft bond flip motions. A total of 680 chains which are 544 short chains comprising 10 beads and 136 long chains comprising 160 beads were placed in 20 lattice layers. It was assumed that there is no energetic interactions between covalently connected beads. while all other neighbors will interact with a truncated 6-12 Lennard-Jones potential. From the analysis of the simulation results, it was shown that purely entropic effects caused the shorter chains to partition preferentially to the surface. We also showed that the center of mass density of the shorter chains shows maximum near the surface. This is the opposite phenomena when compared to that of the longer chains. However, the segments of the shorter and the longer chains did not display any significant changes in bond order.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.151-156
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• 2015

Herein, novel porous structures were fabricated from monomer solutions of dimethylsiloxane and benzene by directional crystallization in twice. First, a honeycomb-like structure was fabricated by $1^{st}$ directional crystallization of solvent. By infiltration of the solution and subsequent $2^{nd}$ directional crystallization, novel structures of different pores in the honeycomb-like structure were fabricated. The porous materials prepared by the repeated directional crystallization have higher indentation modulus and hardness than those of the samples prepared by single directional crystallization. When a higher solution concentration was used in $2^{nd}$ directional crystallization, the maximum increase (indentation modulus: 2140% increase, indentation hardness: 2330% increase) was obtained. On the other hand, porosity and contact angle were lower in the samples from $2^{nd}$ directional crystallization than those from $1^{st}$ directional crystallization. A large decreases was observed, when a relatively high concentration was used in $2^{nd}$ directional crystallization (porosity: 21% decrease, contact angle: 36% decrease).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• 제39권1호
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• pp.130-135
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• 2015

Cellulose has attracted much attention as potential reinforcements in green composites. In this study, polypropylene (PP)/cellulose composites were prepared by melt-blending followed by compression molding. To improve interfacial bonding between PP and cellulose, maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP) was used. Mechanical properties of the PP/cellulose composites were investigated by UTM and izod impact tester. Thermal properties of the PP/cellulose composites were investigated by TGA and DSC. SEM images for the fracture surfaces of the composites showed that the MAPP was effective in improving PP/cellulose interfacial bonding. Tensile strength and modulus of the composite were maxima when MAPP content, based on cellulose content, was 3 wt%. With increasing cellulose content, the impact strength of the composites decreased but the tensile strength and modulus increased.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• 제36권6호
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• pp.721-726
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• 2012

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer is used as an encapsulant in undersea sonar devices. A new material for sonar encapsulant exhibiting better mechanical strength than TPU along with a lower swelling ratio for seawater and oil is required to prolong its application. TPU grafted silica nanoparticles (TPU-g-silica) were prepared and then they were melt mixed with TPU to fabricate desirable composites for underwater applications. The composite containing silica nanoparticles exhibited better tensile strength and lower swelling ratios in the seawater and oil than TPU regardless of the surface treatment of the silica particles. At fixed silica content in the composite, the TPU/TPU-g-silica composite exhibited better tensile strength and lower swelling ratio than the TPU composite with the pristine silica particles. Furthermore, the TPU/TPU-g-silica composite exhibited enhanced tensile strength as compared to TPU after being impregnated with oil.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• 제19권4호
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• pp.183-190
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• 2007

Injection molding is one of the most common operations in polymer processing. Good quality products are usually obtained and major post-processing treatment is not required. However, residual stresses which exist in plastic parts affect the final shape and mechanical properties after ejection. Residual stresses are caused by polymer melt flow, pressure distribution, non-uniform temperature field, and density distribution. Residual stresses are predicted in this study by numerical methods using commercially available softwares, $Hypermesh^{TM},\;Moldflow^{TM}\;and\;ABAQUS^{TM}$. Cavity filling, packing, and cooling stages are simulated to predict residual stress field right after ejection by assuming an isotropic elastic solid. Thermo-viscoelastic stress analysis is carried out to predict deformation and residual stress distribution after annealing of the part. Residual stresses are measured by the hole drilling method because the automotive part selected in this study has a complex shape. Residual stress distribution predicted by the thermal stress analysis is compared with the measurement results obtained by the hole drilling method. The molded specimen has residual stress distribution in tension, compression, and tension from the surface to the center of the part. Viscoelastic deformation of the part is predicted during annealing and the deformed geometry is compared with that measured by a three dimensional scanner. The viscoelastic stress analysis with a thermal cycle will enable us to predict long term behavior of the injection molded polymeric parts.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• 제29권2호
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• pp.166-171
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• 2005

EPDM (ethylene propylene diene monomer)/silicone rubber blends were prepared and the influence of a compatibilizer and thermal aging on the properties of the blends was investigated. The blends of which the compositions were varied in the range of 90/10 through $10/90\;wt\%$ were melt mixed by using a Brabender Plasticoder (internal mixer) and were vulcanized by a hot press. The morphology of the vulcanized EPDM/SR blends was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After the thermal Aging for 24, 48, 96 hrs at $100^{\circ}C$ in an air oven, hardness, tensile strength, elongation and contact angle of the blends were investigated. From the result of the morphology, it was confirmed that the domain size of the blends containing the compatibilizer was reduced. As the increase of the thermal aging time, hardness and tensile strength of the blends decreased but elongation and contact angle increased.