Influence of molecular structure on the rheological and processing behavior of polyethylene resins

Coupling Effect of LDPE Molecular Chain Structure and Additives on the Rheological Behaviors of Cable Insulating Materials

The rheological behaviors of low-density polyethylene doped with additives (PEDA) determine the dynamic extrusion molding and structure of high-voltage cable insulation. However, the coupling effect of additives and molecular chain structure of LDPE on the rheological behaviors of PEDA is still unclear. Here, for the first time, the rheological behaviors of PEDA under uncross-linked conditions are revealed by experiment and simulation analysis, as well as rheology models. The rheology experiment and molecular simulation results indicate that additives can reduce the shear viscosity of PEDA, but the effect degree of different additives on rheological behaviors is determined by both chemical composition and topological structure. Combined with experiment analysis and the Doi-Edwards model, it demonstrates that the zero-shear viscosity is only determined by LDPE molecular chain structure. Nevertheless, different molecular chain structures of LDPE have different coupling effects with additives on the shear viscosity and non-Newtonian feature. Given this, the rheological behaviors of PEDA are predominant by the molecular chain structure of LDPE and are also affected by additives. This work can provide an important theoretical basis for the optimization and regulation of rheological behaviors of PEDA materials used for high-voltage cable insulation.

Light-Responsive Dynamic Protein Hydrogels Based on LOVTRAP

Protein-based hydrogels can mimic many aspects of native extracellular matrices (ECMs) and are promising biomedical materials that find various applications in cell proliferation, drug/cell delivery, and tissue engineering. To be adapted for different tasks, it is important that the mechanical and/or biochemical properties of protein-based hydrogels can be regulated by external stimuli. Light as a regulation stimulus is of advantage because it can be easily applied in demanded spatiotemporal manners. The noncovalent binding between the light-oxygen-voltage-sensing domain 2 (LOV2) and its binding partner ZDark1 (zdk1), named as LOVTRAP, is a light-responsive interaction. The binding affinity of LOVTRAP is much higher in dark than that under blue light irradiation. Taking advantage of these light-responsive interactions, herein we endeavored to use LOVTRAP as a crosslinking mechanism to engineer light-responsive protein hydrogels. Using LOV2-containing and zdk1-containing multifunctional protein building blocks, we successfully engineered a light-responsive protein hydrogel whose viscoelastic properties can change in response to light: in the dark, the hydrogel showed higher storage modulus; under blue light irradiation, the storage modulus decreased. Due to the noncovalent nature of the LOVTRAP, the engineered LOVTRAP protein hydrogels displayed shear-thinning and self-healing properties and served as an excellent injectable protein hydrogel. We anticipated that this new class of light-responsive protein hydrogels will broaden the scope of dynamic protein hydrogels and help develop other light-responsive protein hydrogels for biomedical applications.

Effect of Molar Mass on Critical Specific Work of Flow for Shear-Induced Crystal Nucleation in Poly (l-Lactic Acid)

The concept of specific work of flow has been applied for the analysis of critical shearing conditions for the formation of crystal nuclei in poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA). Systematic variation in both time and rate of shearing the melt in a parallel-plate rheometer revealed that these parameters are interconvertible regarding the shear-induced formation of crystal nuclei; that is, low shear rate can be compensated for by increasing the shear time and vice versa. This result supports the view that critical shearing conditions can be expressed by a single quantity, providing additional options for tailoring polymer processing routes when enhanced nuclei formation is desired/unwanted. Analysis of PLLA of different mass-average molar masses of 70, 90, 120, and 576 kDa confirmed improved shear-induced crystal nucleation for materials of higher molar mass, with critical specific works of flow, above which shear-induced nuclei formation occurs, of 550, 60, 25, and 5 kPa, respectively.

Rheological Behavior of Blends of Metallocene Catalyzed Long-Chain Branched Polyethylenes. Part I: Shear Rheological and Thermorheological Behavior

Long-chain branched metallocene-catalyzed high-density polyethylenes (LCB-mHDPE) were solution blended to obtain blends with varying degrees of branching. A high molecular LCB-mHDPE was mixed with low molecular LCB-mHDPE at varying concentrations. The rheological behavior of those low molecular LCB-mHDPE is similar but their molar mass and molar mass distribution are significantly different. Those blends were characterized rheologically to study the effects of concentration, molar mass distribution, and long-chain branching level of the low molecular LCB-mHDPE. Owing to the ultra-long relaxation times of the high molecular LCB-mHDPE, the blends exhibited a clearly more long-chain branched behavior than the base materials. The thermorheological complexity analysis showed an apparent increase in the activation energies E_a determined from G′, G″, and especially δ. E_a(δ), which for LCB-mHDPE is a peak function, turned out to produce even more pronounced peaks than observed for LCB-mPE with narrow molar mass distribution and also LCB-mPE with broader molar mass distribution. Thus, it is possible to estimate the molar mass distribution from the details of the thermorheological complexity.

Melt rheology and extrudate swell properties of talc filled polyethylene compounds

An experimental study of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites filled with talc (0-15 wt.%) was carried out to investigate the rheological properties. The apparent melt viscosity, melt density, and die-swell ratio (B) of the composites were measured at constant shear stress and constant shear rate by using a melt flow indexer and capillary rheometer. The experimental conditions were set to a temperature range from 190 to 220 °C for both apparatuses whereas a load range from 5 to 12.16 kg was selected for melt flow indexer and shear rate range from 1 to 10000 s^-1 for capillary rheometer. The initial study showed that the talc particulates did not influence the melt viscosity compared with the neat HDPE but decreased the elasticity of the polymer system. The HDPE/talc systems obeyed power-law model in shear stress-shear rate variations and were shear thinning, meanwhile, the die-swell increased with an increased wall shear rate and shear stress. The melt density of the composites increased linearly with an increase of the filler weight fraction and decreased with the increase of the testing temperature. The talc-HDPE composites showed compressible in the molten state.

Extrusion Defects and Flow Instabilities of Molten Polymers

When certain critical conditions are exceeded, the flow of a polymer melt becomes unstable, giving rise to particular phenomena that are the subject of this review. These instabilities are a vital industrial problem, as they are the key to productivity of extrusion processes. Indeed, their onset leads to unacceptable products and is thus the upper limit of the processing conditions. They are also a fascinating scientific problem because, although studied and discussed for more than half a century, they are still not fully understood and their mechanisms are still sometimes controversial. In the present literature review, we present an overview of the studies carried out for fifty years, as well as our own opinion on the underlying mechanisms.

Rheological Evaluation and Observations of Extrusion Instabilities of Biodegradable Polyesters

The rheological properties of two commercially available biodegradable polyesters – poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester Ecoflex™ – have been investigated. The rheological study was focused on measuring the viscosity and examining sharkskin, melt fracture, and extrudate swell phenomena, which are crucial in industrial applications. The experiments show that the two biodegradable polyesters exhibit shear-thinning behavior similar to other polymers and the Cox-Merz rule is obeyed. It was observed that with increasing shear rate PLA exhibits sharkskin and gross melt fracture while Ecoflex™ exhibits only gross melt fracture. Experimental results indicate that both biodegradable polyesters exhibit small extrudate swell, up to 28% for PLA and up to 34% for Ecoflex™.

Correlação entre propriedades reológicas e ópticas de filmes tubulares de polietileno linear de baixa densidade com diferentes distribuições de ramificações curtas

Devido a suas excelentes propriedades mecânicas o polietileno linear de baixa densidade, PELBD, tem ganhado cada vez mais importância na indústria de embalagens. Essas propriedades são resultado de sua estrutura molecular, da existência de ramificações curtas, SCB, e da distribuição dessas ramificações, DSCB. Junto com o peso molecular, PM, e sua distribuição, DPM, as ramificações curtas também afetam o processo de sopro de filmes influenciando na solidificação do filme até a linha de neve, já que a cinética de cristalização é dependente da distribuição destas ramificações. Assim, este trabalho teve como objetivo verificar a influência da DSCB do PELBD nas propriedades reológicas e óticas de filmes tubulares. Para isso, três PELBD foram escolhidos; dois sintetizados com catalisador Ziegler-Natta e um com catalisador metaloceno, de peso molecular ponderal médio, Mw, similar e DSCB diferentes. Observou-se que a DSCB exerce influência nas propriedades reológicas que refletem a elasticidade do material como a primeira diferença de tensões normais N1, o módulo de armazenamento G'(<FONT FACE=Symbol>w</font>), e a deformação recuperável gamar; entretanto na viscosidade em função da taxa de cisalhamento eta(gama), e no módulo de perda G"(ômega), a diferença nessa distribuição não foi percebida. Observou-se também que quanto maior a deformação recuperável dos PELBD, menores foram as estruturas cristalinas formadas o que diminuiu a opacidade dos filmes. Porém essa proporcionalidade manteve-se até uma determinada gamar mínima, acima da qual a fratura do fundido se sobrepôs à recuperação da deformação e a opacidade voltou a aumentar.

Correlação entre as propriedades reológicas, óticas e a morfologia de filmes soprados de LLDPE/LDPE

Neste trabalho correlações entre as propriedades reológicas e óticas e a morfologia de filmes soprados de polietileno linear de baixa densidade, LLDPE, e de suas blendas com 10% e 20 % de polietileno de baixa densidade, LDPE, foram pesquisadas. Os filmes foram processados em uma sopradora industrial. As propriedades reológicas estudadas foram : a viscosidade em regime permanente de cisalhamento, h(<img border=0 id="_x0000_i1026" src="../../../../../img/revistas/po/v14n1/19868x8.gif" align=absmiddle>), a primeira diferença de tensões normais, N1(<img border=0 id="_x0000_i1027" src="../../../../../img/revistas/po/v14n1/19868x1.gif" align=texttop>), o módulo complexo em cisalhamento, G* (ômega) e a deformação recuperável, gamar (t). h(<img border=0 id="_x0000_i1028" src="../../../../../img/revistas/po/v14n1/19868x1.gif" align=texttop>) e N1(<img border=0 id="_x0000_i1029" src="../../../../../img/revistas/po/v14n1/19868x1.gif" align=texttop>)foram medidos num reômetro de deformação controlada com cone e placa (taxas baixas) e num capilar (taxas elevadas); G* (ômega) e gamar(t) foram medidos num reômetro de tensão controlada com placas paralelas. As propriedades óticas (brilho e opacidade) foram medidas num opacímetro. As morfologias superficiais dos filmes soprados foram analisadas por microscopia eletrônica de varredura e microscopia de força atômica. Uma correlação entre deformação recuperável, opacidade total e morfologia dos filmes das blendas de LLDPE/LDPE foi obtida: quanto maior a recuperação elástica, menor a opacidade total e menor o tamanho do cristalito. A adição do LDPE ao LLDPE aumentou a deformação recuperável das blendas, diminuindo as suas opacidades.