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Electrical conductivity under shear flow of molten polyethylene filled with carbon nanotubes: Experimental and modeling
Author(s) -
Collet Anatole,
Serghei Anatoli,
Lhost Olivier,
Trolez Yves,
Cassagnau Philippe,
Fulchiron René
Publication year - 2021
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.25651
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , shear rate , shearing (physics) , carbon nanotube , shear (geology) , simple shear , polyethylene , shear flow , conductivity , polymer , percolation (cognitive psychology) , thermodynamics , rheology , chemistry , physics , neuroscience , biology
Abstract This work aims to describe the conductivity evolution of polymer composites (polyethylene filled with carbon nanotubes) during a shearing deformation. Rheo‐electric measurements were carried out to observe the shear‐induced fillers network modification. Extended steady shear forces the conductivity to evolve asymptotically to a steady level attesting to an equilibrium between structuring and break up mechanisms in the melted polymer. Numerous experiments were conducted to cover a wide range of shear rate from 0.05 to 10 s −1 and for carbon nanotubes concentrations between 1.3 and 2.9 vol%. A model is proposed to predict the conductivity evolution under shear deformation using a simple kinetic equation inserted in a percolation law. Structuring parameter was found to be solely dependent on the temperature whereas shear induced modification terms were found to be mostly driven by the shear rate and the fillers content.