Structure and performance of polybutene-1 pipes produced via mandrel rotation extrusion

Abstract

Abstract In this article, a new rotational extrusion processing system was adopted for manufacturing of polybutene-1 (PB-1) pipes, and the effects of mandrel rotation speed on their structures and mechanical performances were studied. The experimental results showed that besides the conventional axial extrusion flow field, a hoop shear stress field imposed to the melt, which was generated by the introduction of mandrel rotation, could lead the combined stress apart from the axial direction of the pipes to induce the molecular orientation deviated from the axial direction. Thus, the axial orientation of PB-1 was restrained, which was revealed by thermal shrinkage measurements and polarized infrared spectra. Moreover, it was also found and confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction that orientation mainly existed in the amorphous region rather than the crystal region. Differential scanning calorimetry tests showed that the mandrel rotation could facilitate the formation of more perfect crystals and higher crystallinity. As a result, compared with the PB-1 pipe produced by conventional extrusion, the hoop strength of the PB-1 pipes manufactured at a mandrel rotation speed of 8 rpm increased from 20.2 to 24.9 MPa, achieving a mechanical balance in both axial and hoop directions.