Melt‐rheological behavior of high‐solid cement‐in‐polymer dispersions

Abstract

AbstractThe rheological behavior of a series of poly(ethylene oxide) melts containing nonhydrated cement is investigated using stress‐sweep measurements. The influence of the polymer end‐group—diol, monomethyl ether, and dimethyl ether—, molecular weight, and the particle volume fraction is examined. The data suggests that monomethyl ethers adsorb with their single OH group head‐on on the cement surface, which reduces the interparticle friction and the viscosity, but mixtures based on monomethyl ethers exhibit shear‐thickening behavior. The diols cause the formation of hydrogen‐bonded particle networks leading to high viscosities, but these mixtures exhibit shear‐thinning behavior due to the collapse of the network upon shearing. On increasing the particle volume fraction, the samples feature a nonlinear increase in viscosity. Fitting these data indicated that the maximum particle volume fraction is close to the random packing density of spheres and decreases with decreasing shear stress. As coating for glass rovings, the mixtures match the reinforcing performance of solvent‐based systems despite lower cement content. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011