The viscosity reducing effects of very low concentrations of a thermotropic copolyester in a matrix of HDPE

C. Whitehouse; X. H. Lu; P. Gao; C. K. Chai

doi:10.1002/pen.11845

The viscosity reducing effects of very low concentrations of a thermotropic copolyester in a matrix of HDPE

C. Whitehouse, X. H. Lu, P. Gao^*, C. K. Chai

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP), denoted as TLCP(1), was used as a processing aid for high density polyethylene (HDPE). The TLCP was a copolyester of hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroquinone and sebacic acid and was blended with HDPE to give 0.2, 0.5 and 2 wt% TLCP(1) blends. At a temperature of 185°C, when TLCP(1) is in the nematic regime, the processing window for HDPE was increased tenfold from a maximum shear rate of 100 s^-1 for pure HDPE to 1170 s^-1 for a 2 wt% TLCP(1) blend. There were large viscosity reductions of between 85% and 90% compared with the pure HDPE when the blended material was used at a wall shear stress value of approximately 2.4 × 10⁵ Pa. This viscosity reduction was attributed to the TLCP(1) droplets changing shape from spheres to slender fibrils under shear flows.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1944-1958
Number of pages	15
Journal	Polymer Engineering and Science
Volume	37
Issue number	12
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pen.11845
Publication status	Published - 1997
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

General Chemistry
Polymers and Plastics
Materials Chemistry

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10.1002/pen.11845

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title = "The viscosity reducing effects of very low concentrations of a thermotropic copolyester in a matrix of HDPE",

abstract = "A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP), denoted as TLCP(1), was used as a processing aid for high density polyethylene (HDPE). The TLCP was a copolyester of hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroquinone and sebacic acid and was blended with HDPE to give 0.2, 0.5 and 2 wt% TLCP(1) blends. At a temperature of 185°C, when TLCP(1) is in the nematic regime, the processing window for HDPE was increased tenfold from a maximum shear rate of 100 s-1 for pure HDPE to 1170 s-1 for a 2 wt% TLCP(1) blend. There were large viscosity reductions of between 85% and 90% compared with the pure HDPE when the blended material was used at a wall shear stress value of approximately 2.4 × 105 Pa. This viscosity reduction was attributed to the TLCP(1) droplets changing shape from spheres to slender fibrils under shear flows.",

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AU - Whitehouse, C.

AU - Lu, X. H.

AU - Gao, P.

AU - Chai, C. K.

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Y1 - 1997

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AB - A thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (TLCP), denoted as TLCP(1), was used as a processing aid for high density polyethylene (HDPE). The TLCP was a copolyester of hydroxybenzoic acid, hydroquinone and sebacic acid and was blended with HDPE to give 0.2, 0.5 and 2 wt% TLCP(1) blends. At a temperature of 185°C, when TLCP(1) is in the nematic regime, the processing window for HDPE was increased tenfold from a maximum shear rate of 100 s-1 for pure HDPE to 1170 s-1 for a 2 wt% TLCP(1) blend. There were large viscosity reductions of between 85% and 90% compared with the pure HDPE when the blended material was used at a wall shear stress value of approximately 2.4 × 105 Pa. This viscosity reduction was attributed to the TLCP(1) droplets changing shape from spheres to slender fibrils under shear flows.

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The viscosity reducing effects of very low concentrations of a thermotropic copolyester in a matrix of HDPE

Abstract

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