0000000000180180
AUTHOR
Rosamaria Marino
Effect of the extensional flow on the properties of oriented nanocomposite films for twist wrapping
In this study, we examined the mechanical behavior of nanocomposite films based on polyethylene (PE) and pristine PE films. The films were prepared by film blowing and were then cold-drawn at low temperature. The experimental results show that cold drawing significantly enhanced the orientation; with increasing draw ratio (DR), the elastic modulus and tensile strength of the PE films strongly increased, particularly in the presence of the organoclay. To obtain polymeric films suitable for twist wrapping, the films must be sufficiently stiff so that no shrinkage or elastic recovery occur during or after twisting. The elongation at break and the yield strain sharply decreased with orientation…
Morphology and Properties of Polyethylene/Clay Nanocomposite Drawn Fibers
The influence of an elongational flow on the morphology of PE/clay nanocomposite drawn fibers was studied. An increase of the elastic modulus and the tensile strength as well as a decrease of the elongation at break are observed with increasing draw ratio. The applied elongational gradient orients the polymer chains and the clay particles along the spinning direction. When the applied flow results in the formation and the orientation of exfoliated nanoparticles, a pronounced increase of the mechanical properties is observed. The dispersed clay particles can be broken and oriented by the extensional flow, which might indicate a flow induced intercalated/exfoliated morphology transition.
Processing and Properties of Biopolymer/Polyhydroxyalkanoates Blends
In this paper, the processability and the performance of a biodegradable polymer, Mater-Bi, and of its blends with either a sample of poly (hydroxy alkanoates) (PHA) or with bacterial biomass containing PHAs were compared. Adding PHA or directly the biomass containing it allows improving the processability of the matrix. Moreover, the mechanical behaviour of the systems was compared considering two different preparation methods, namely compression and injection moulding. The injection moulded samples show poorer mechanical performances than those of the compression moulded systems. The impact strength significantly improves when PHA is added while it reduces when bacterial biomass is used i…
The role of the matrix-filler affinity on morphology and properties of polyethylene/clay and polyethylene/ compatibilizer/clay nanocomposites drawn fibers
In this work the structural variations and mechanical performance of polyethylene/clay nanocomposite drawn fibres, also in the presence ofcompatibilizer, such as a commercial maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene, PEgMA, was studied. In the isotropic state both systems show intercalated morphology.After spinning and cold drawing, by adding the nanoparticles, the tensile strength as a function of the draw ratio increases and this rise is more pronounced for the filled compatibilized system. The reduction of the elongation at break, on the contrary, is about the same for all the examined samples. The orientation of the macromolecules, evaluated by measurements of the birefringence and calorim…
Morphology Modification of Polyethylene/Clay Nanocomposite Samples under Convergent Flow
The morphology of PE/CL nanocomposite samples subjected to convergent flows is studied. Elongational flow – the typical flow involved in spinning and film-blowing processing operations – significantly increases with the reduction of the capillary diameter. The values of the convergent extensional stress (calculated by Cogswell's formula) for the PE/CL systems, for all the adopted capillary geometries, are greater than the calculated values for pure polyethylene. The applied convergent flow, at the entrance of the capillary, is able to change the clay morphology and consequently the final material properties on the PE/CL system with limited affinity between the matrix and organo-modified cla…