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Microstrcture development during the injection molding of PET/LCP blends
Author(s) -
Turcott E.,
Nguyen K. T.,
GarciaRejon A.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.10757
Subject(s) - materials science , microstructure , composite material , molding (decorative) , rod , mold , layer (electronics) , polymer , polyethylene terephthalate , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Abstract A liquid crystal polymer (LCP) was blended polethylene terephthalate (PET) in different concetrations to improve the barrier properties of PET in injection stretch blow molded bottles. The improvement depends on the microstructure developed at various stages of the process.In this work, the emphasis is on the injection molding stage of the preform. The characteristics and number of morphological layers were directly related to the amount and type of LCP in the blend and the loction within the perform. It was found that at 10% LCP, three morphological layers were found across the thickness of the part, while at 30% LCP, five morphological layers could be identified. The LCP structure can be classified into four types: droplets, thick rods, thin fibrils and ribbons. Each morphological layer is made up of one or more types of structures. The evolution of on type structure to another depends on the particular flow regime ongoing at various locations in the mold. This microstructure development, during the flow, was examined in detail.