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Formation and characterization of polyethylene blends for autoclave‐based expanded‐bead foams
Author(s) -
Behravesh Amir H.,
Park Chul B.,
Lee Eung K.
Publication year - 2010
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.21641
Subject(s) - linear low density polyethylene , materials science , low density polyethylene , high density polyethylene , polyethylene , composite material , differential scanning calorimetry , polymer blend , autoclave , polymer , copolymer , metallurgy , physics , thermodynamics
Blends of linear‐low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE), low‐density polyethylene (LDPE), and high‐ density polyethylene (HDPE) were foamed and characterized in this research. The goal was to generate clear dual peaks from the expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam beads made from these blends in autoclave processing. Three blends were prepared in a twin‐screw mixing extruder at two rotational speeds of 5 and 50 rpm: Blend1 (LLDPE with 20 wt% HDPE), Blend 2 (LLDPE with 20 wt% LDPE), and Blend 3 (LLDPE with 10 wt% HDPE and 10 wt% LDPE). The differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) measurement was taken at two cooling rates: 5 and 50°C/min. Although no dual peaks were present, the results showed that blending with HDPE has a more noticeable effect on the DSC curve of LLDPE than blending with LDPE. Also, the rotational speed and cooling rate affected the shape of the DSC curves and the percentage area below the onset point. The DSC characterization of the batch foamed blends revealed multiple peaks at certain temperatures, which may be mainly due to the annealing effect during the gas saturation process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers