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.
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Thomas Müller , Ines Kuehnert , Tim A. Osswald, May 2010
In-mold forming (IMF) is a new injection molding technique to produce high-performance light-weight parts.Unlike the conventional process, the novel molding technology is particularly suitable for mass production, because its cycle times are short, cost-effective and efficient.In this process, a pre-heated fiber-reinforced thermoplastic sheet is formed in the injection molding machine, followed by instantaneous overmolding, thus forming short glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic ribs to reinforce the structure. To show the manufacturing procedure as well as the new molding devices required, the system was implemented for the example of a steering column connection.
Kneader reactors are used for combined unitary processing in the polymer industry for devolatilization, compounding or polymerization. In the past, mass transport prediction for devolatilization operations in kneader reactors did not match experimental results, when diffusion was assumed as sole driving force. It was detected that there is an additional concentration and temperature dependent driving force that triggers enhanced transport at finite solvent concentrations by orders of magnitude. The author suggests that the underlying root cause is likely micro bubble formation within the polymer melt. An attempt to model this additional mass transport mechanism is presented.
Ryan Marsico , William H. Cawley , Rolf Klein, May 2010
Laser welding is increasingly becoming a technology
of choice in the plastics joining industry. The use of
infrared absorbers to laser weld thermoplastic materials
including thermoplastic elastomers is also of interest to
the plastics industry. Therefore an investigation of the
laser welding characteristics of four classes of
thermoplastic urethanes using organic infrared absorbing
materials was undertaken. In addition the use of
thermoplastic urethanes as intermediate layers with
dissimilar plastics has also been examined. This paper
reviews the results of these welding studies.
Ryan Marsico , William H. Cawley , Rolf Klein, May 2010
Laser welding is increasingly becoming a technology of choice in the plastics joining industry. The use of infrared absorbers to laser weld thermoplastic materials, including thermoplastic elastomers, is also of interest to the plastics industry. Therefore, an investigation of the laser welding characteristics of four classes of thermoplastic urethanes using organic infrared absorbing materials was undertaken. In addition, the use of thermoplastic urethanes as intermediate layers with dissimilar plastics has also been examined. This paper reviews the results of these welding studies.
The glass transition temperature (Tg) of an ultrathin polystyrene (PS) layer within a multilayer film geometry was analyzed by using a fluorescence technique; the Tgs of PS layers were tuned over 100 K by varying the species and thickness of the neighboring polymer layer. Similar Tg perturbations were observed for the first time in poly(styrene-block-4-vinylpyridine)/poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) blends. The Tg of the styrene block nanodomains increased by ~40 K by reducing the styrene block composition within the blends. This study suggests a novel route to create new material properties controlled by the polymer type and nanoconfined dimension in multilayer films and nanostructured blends.
David Kazmer , Sarah Westerdale , Daniel Hazen, May 2010
The performance of statistical process control (SPC) compared to principal components analysis (PCA) for the purpose of quality control. Both methods used a nine run perturbation design of experiments to develop the initial model and control limits. Twelve molding faults were then imposed to characterize the performance of the two methods to identify process changes and molding defects. SPC identified 5 of the 12 process faults and 18 of the 24 molding defects. PCA identified 10 of the 12 process faults and 23 of the 24 molding defects.
Amit S. Kulkarni , Srinivas Siripurapu , Todd M. Loehr , Parminder Agarwal , B. Parthipan , Pooja M.K., May 2010
Flame retardant (FR) PC/ABS blends find
applications in the medical housings market owing
to their superior processability and a fine balance
between the primary requirements of flammability
performance mechanical properties and chemical
resistance to hospital cleaners. In recent times low
part-surface gloss is emerging as an important
requirement for such applications. This manuscript
showcases a new chlorine-bromine free FR PC/ABS
blend which meets these demanding requirements
for extrusion and thermoforming applications.
Amit S. Kulkarni , Srinivas Siripurapu , Todd M. Loehr , Parminder Agarwal , B. Parthipan , Pooja M.K., May 2010
Flame retardant (FR) PC/ABS blends find applications in the medical housings market owing to their superior processability and a fine balance between the primary requirements of flammability performance, mechanical properties and chemical resistance to hospital cleaners. In recent times, low part-surface gloss is emerging as an important requirement for such applications. This manuscript showcases a new chlorine-bromine free FR PC/ABS blend which meets these demanding requirements for extrusion and thermoforming applications.
B.R. Whiteside , R. Spares , P.D. Coates, May 2010
A system offering two different measurement methods for 3-dimensional evaluation of micromoulded surface features within a moulding process has been designed, manufactured and tested. The system adopts two methods for height measurement and subsequent 3D surface reconstruction. The first method, for feature sizes in the region 10?¬m to 2mm and non-optical surfaces, uses a local contrast technique to calculate when regions of the component come into focus and calculates surface heights accordingly. The second method, for the measurement of optically smooth, featureless surfaces, uses White Light Interferometry techniques to measure surface data. Both methods are seamlessly integrated into the system and require nothing more than a lens change to switch between the two.
R. Spares , B.R. Whiteside , P.D. Coates, May 2010
Micromoulding is a thermally dominated process.
Due to manufactured parts having high surface area to
volume ratios extremely high cooling rates are achieved.
Thermal measurements using surface mounted
thermocouples at comparable rates are impractical due to
their relatively high response times. To address this issue
an AGA 782 SW thermal imaging camera has been
modified such that it runs in a linescan mode and data are
collected using a high speed digitiser to allow capture
rates of 2500 lines per second. The rapid cooling of a
range of components and materials have been recorded
and the superheating of air traps within the component
have been observed.
Due to manufactured parts having high surface area to
volume ratios extremely high cooling rates are achieved.
Thermal measurements using surface mounted
thermocouples at comparable rates are impractical due to
their relatively high response times. To address this issue
an AGA 782 SW thermal imaging camera has been
modified such that it runs in a linescan mode and data are
collected using a high speed digitiser to allow capture
rates of 2500 lines per second. The rapid cooling of a
range of components and materials have been recorded
and the superheating of air traps within the component
have been observed.
R. Spares , B.R. Whiteside , P.D. Coates, May 2010
Micromoulding is a thermally dominated process.Due to manufactured parts having high surface area to volume ratios extremely high cooling rates are achieved.Thermal measurements using surface mounted thermocouples at comparable rates are impractical due to their relatively high response times. To address this issue an AGA 782 SW thermal imaging camera has been modified, such that it runs in a linescan mode and data are collected using a high speed digitiser to allow capture rates of 2500 lines per second. The rapid cooling of a range of components and materials have been recorded, and the superheating of air traps within the component have been observed
Martin N. Bureau, Marion Maire, Gerardo Diaz-Quijada, Lucie Robitaille, Abdellah Ajji,
Yahye Merhi, May 2010
End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) are becoming a growing concern because of their impact on the environment. The automotive industries are facing worldwide pressure to help find environmentally friendly ways of disposing end of life vehicles. Though most of the metal parts from the ELVs are recycled however, plastic components from the shredder residue are complex to separate and they are being mostly dumped into the landfill. The main purpose of this paper is to present an alternate solution to this environmental issue by using bio-degradable plastic in the automotives. Experimental works have been done to check the change in mechanical properties of bio-degradable plastic for accelerated weathering test. The results resemble the impact of weather on bio-degradable plastic while using for automotives in typical Australian environment.
Martin N. Bureau , Marion Maire , Gerardo Diaz-Quijada , Lucie Robitaille , Abdellah Ajji , Yahye Merhi, May 2010
Synthetic grafts from woven polyethylene terephthalate fibers or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene have been used for decades to replace diseased arteries. However, their thrombogenicity and low compliance (vs.arteries) inevitably lead to their occlusion. A need exists for new synthetic grafts with an anti-thrombogenic surface and high compliance to improve long-term patency. Grafts from nonwoven PET fiber structures obtained from melt blowing are evaluated. Contrary tocommercial woven Dacron ', they allow for mechanical compliance adjustment through control of fiber diameter, porosity and graft structure configuration. Their low thrombogenicity, when properly surface-treated using polyethylene glycol functionalization, artery-matching compliance and promising burst pressure are reported.
The use of gas-saturated pellets as a means to deliver a
controlled amount of blowing agent for foam extrusion was
investigated. Various PVC blend ratios of unsaturated
virgin and CO2 pre-saturated pellets were created before
placing into the hopper. It was found that PVC profiles
with a uniform microstructure can be produced. The blend
ratio is a critical process parameter as it governs the
amount of gas delivered to the process. Due to the high
solubility of CO2 at room temperature sub-critical
pressures can be used to saturate the PVC pellets. The
process was successfully carried out in an industrial R&D
lab and appears to be adaptable for large scale production.
Due to manufactured parts having high surface area to
volume ratios extremely high cooling rates are achieved.
Thermal measurements using surface mounted
thermocouples at comparable rates are impractical due to
their relatively high response times. To address this issue
an AGA 782 SW thermal imaging camera has been
modified such that it runs in a linescan mode and data are
collected using a high speed digitiser to allow capture
rates of 2500 lines per second. The rapid cooling of a
range of components and materials have been recorded
and the superheating of air traps within the component
have been observed.
S. Dimitrievska , J. Whitfield , S. A. Hacking , M. N. Bureau, May 2010
Bone loss around femoral implants used for total hip arthroplasty is a persistent clinical concern. In some cases, it may be caused by stress shielding, which is generally attributed to a mismatch in stiffness between the femoral implant and host bone. In this regard, a fatigue resistant, carbon fiber (CF) polyamide 12 (PA12) composite hip stem coated with hydroxyapatite (HA) for hip replacement has been developed to match bone stiffness and achievefixation by osseointegration. In vitro studies withosteoblast cells (MG63) showed no cytotoxicity of the composite components as seen by the cellular growth andcomposites interaction. In vivo studies comparing thecomposite and Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) rods in the rabbit and rat femurs demonstrated significantly higher bone apposition to the composite than Ti64 rods. The results of this study indicate that the invasion of surrounding bone cells and thus osteointegration together with its bone-matching mechanical properties make the HA-coated CF/PA12 composite stem a promising hip replacement candidate.
Understanding the physical properties associated with
the gelation and fusion of a PVC plastisol will help to
improve process efficiency. Plastisol gelation and fusion
was characterized using both scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM)
and compared to tensile properties developed at various
temperatures. Both SEM and AFM show good agreement
during the early stages of gelation. However AFM
continues to show particle boundaries during latter stages
of gelation and fusion that provide a more accurate
comparison with resulting tensile properties.
EC Brown, BR Whiteside, R Spares, PD Coates, May 2010
Plastics manufacturing is an interdisciplinary endeavor crossing chemical, mechanical, and electrical engineering as well as other fields. In this paper, a systems approach is described for the decomposition and development of a plastics manufacturing system. The case study involves the design, implementation, and validation of a thermal imprint lithography machine used in an undergraduate process control course. Its development motivated systems thinking about open and closed loop control, variances between theory and practice, performance measurement, and process optimization.
EC Brown , BR Whiteside , R Spares , PD Coates, May 2010
An ultrasonic measurement system has been
developed and operated in conjunction with a suite of
process monitoring transducers on a Battenfeld
Microsystem 50. Measurements are non-invasive;
piezoelectric sol-gel sensors can be integrated with the
mould and their low-profile nature is ideally suited to the
constraints of the micromoulding environment allowing
measurement of flow front position cooling dynamics
shrinkage morphology changes during solidification and
cycle repeatability. Ultrasonic measurements of mould
filling and cooling dynamics have been validated using
flow visualization techniques on the same machine.
EC Brown , BR Whiteside , R Spares , PD Coates, May 2010
An ultrasonic measurement system has been developed and operated in conjunction with a suite of process monitoring transducers on a Battenfeld Microsystem 50. Measurements are non-invasive; piezoelectric sol-gel sensors can be integrated with the mould and their low-profile nature is ideally suited to the constraints of the micromoulding environment, allowing measurement of flow front position, cooling dynamics, shrinkage, morphology changes during solidification and cycle repeatability. Ultrasonic measurements of mould filling and cooling dynamics have been validated using flow visualization techniques on the same machine.
Failure of plastic products is the result of the materialƒ??s behavior in the application but is also influenced by human factors such as material selection design processing and use. Material selection is critical to the success of a product. One of the greatest challenges relates to understanding chemical exposure in the application and the materialƒ??s corresponding resistance.Unsuitable chemical resistance of a material accounts for a majority of failures with a significant number involving exposure to secondary fluids. This paper will explore case studies that focus on chemical related failures as the result of improper material selection and understanding of secondary exposure conditions.
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
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.
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