Abstract
In this work, a novel melt extrusion method under synergy of extensional deformation and in-situ bubble stretching (ISBS) and corresponding apparatus were reported. The structure and working principle were introduced in detail. Polymer composites composed of high density polyethylene (HDPE)/ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE)/carbon fiber (CF) were prepared by using this new method. Effects of CF and Azodicarbonamide (AC) contents on composites’ morphology, rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties were experimentally investigated. SEM results showed that the CFs dispersed evenly in the matrix when the AC content was relatively high. DSC results showed that co-crystallization of HDPE and UHMWPE occurred in the composites, and the Xc of the composites decreased with the addition of AC or under high CF loadings. TGA results showed that the thermostability of the composites increased markedly with increasing CF loading. Mechanical properties showed that tensile strength increased by 30% with 9 wt % CF and 0.6 wt % AC added. The results aforementioned indicate that the novel melt extrusion method is a green and effective way to prepare HDPE/UHMWPE/CF composites.
Highlights
High density polyethylene (HDPE) has been widely used as a potential structural matrix for various industrial applications due to its good mechanical properties and ease in fabrication [1].compared with engineering polymers, its strength is relatively low
The AC dispersed in the carbon fiber (CF) agglomerates, the phase interface and in the high density polyethylene (HDPE) resin respectively was in solid state as the melt temperature was under the decomposition temperature of the AC
This is due to the fact that ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) dispersed evenly and there was a fine integration of HDPE/UHMWPE blend under the synergy of extensional deformation and in-situ bubble stretching (ISBS) which reduced the amount of stress concentration points caused by the UHMWPE agglomerates
Summary
High density polyethylene (HDPE) has been widely used as a potential structural matrix for various industrial applications due to its good mechanical properties and ease in fabrication [1]. Proposed a method named in-situ bubble stretching to promote the dispersion of fillers in matrix and improve the composites’ properties without modifying the structure of the mixing device. This method has been used to prepare polymer-based composites such as HDPE/Nano-CaCO3 [31], GFO/pPI [32], LDPE/MWCNTs [33], HDPE/nano-SiC [34], which verified that in-situ bubble stretching (ISBS) is an efficient and environmentally friendly method to realize uniform dispersion of the fillers. Melt extrusion process under synergy of in-situ bubble stretching and extensional deformation was developed and the compounding of the HDPE/UHMWPE/CF composites was carried out. The effects of CF and Azodicarbonamide (AC) contents on morphological, rheological, thermal, and mechanical properties of the HDPE/UHMWPE/CF composites were experimentally discussed
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