Unit4 Part2
Unit4 Part2
Unit4 Part2
. Viscosity
. Viscoelasticity
viscosityof Polymer Melts
Fluid property that relates shear stress to shear rate during
.
flow Due to its high molecular weight, a polymer melt is a thick fluid with high-
viscosity .when POLYMER MELTS THE VISCOSITY DECREASES AS TSHEAR RATE (du/dy) INCREASES
A characteristic value is the limiting viscosity for zero shear rate (frequently
referred to as zero shear viscosity) usually denoted with ηo.
Flow rates are often large, leading to high shear rates and shear stresses, so significant a
highly pressures are required to accomplish .Viscosity of a polymer melt decreases with
shear rate, thus the fluid becomes thinner at higher shear rates.
Extrusion
extrusion is the process of confining the material in a closed cavity and then
allowing it to flow from only one opening so that the metal will take the shape of the
opening. Operation identical to the squeezing of toothpaste out of the toothpaste tube.
Extrusion can be used to process most thermoplastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene,
polyurethane, polystyrene, polyamide, polyester and flexible polyvinyl chloride. A
characteristic that often differentiates extruded from injection-moulded plastics is the
viscosity of the plastic at normal processing temperatures. Extruded plastics often have a
higher melt viscosity that allows the extrudate to retain the shape imparted to it by the die
while the extrudate is in the cooling stages
the particulate mass which is then worked by shearing and heated by frictional effects until it
is in a plastic state and can be extruded.
The terms “film” and “sheet” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they refer to
distinct materials with different characteristics and applications.
Both films and sheets are thin, flat materials made from thermoplastics, and they
represent a significant share of global plastic production.
Thickness classification:
o Films: Typically measure less than 0.25 mm (0.01 inches) according to ASTM
Standard Terminology Relating to Plastics.
o Sheets: Exceed 0.25 mm in thickness, with some reaching several centimeters.
Manufacturing methods:
o Films: Produced through methods like blown film (where plastic is blown
into a roll) or flat extrusion (using chill rolls or water quenching to cool and
shape molten plastic into thin, uniform sheets). Blown films are commonly
used for plastic bags1.
o Sheets: Primarily rely on extrusion with polished, stacked rolls. Thinner sheets
find applications in thermoformed food packaging, stationery, office products,
and industrial needs1.
1. Melt Spinning:
o In melt spinning, the polymer is melted and extruded through a spinneret (a
small nozzle with multiple holes).
o As the extruded polymer filament emerges, it is rapidly cooled (quenched) to
solidify it.
o The resulting continuous filament forms the synthetic fiber.
o Small-diameter fibers can be quenched in the air, while larger-diameter
monofilaments require quenching in water1.
2. Wet Spinning:
oIn wet spinning, the polymer is dissolved in a suitable solvent to create a
viscous solution (often called “dope”).
o This dope is then extruded through a spinneret into a coagulation bath (usually
a liquid).
o As the filament enters the bath, it solidifies due to the exchange of solvent and
nonsolvent.
o The continuous filament becomes the synthetic fiber.
3. Dry Spinning:
o Dry spinning begins by dissolving the polymer in an organic solvent.
o The resulting polymer solution (dope) is blended with additives and filtered.
o The dope is then extruded through a spinneret into a zone of heated gas or
vapor.
o As the filament exits the spinneret, it solidifies due to the evaporation of the
solvent.
o Dry spinning is commonly used for producing fibers like acrylic and acetate2.
1. Melt Spinning:
o Suitable for thermoplastic polymers, such as nylon, olefin, polyester, saran,
and sulfar.
o The molten polymer is extruded through a spinneret (a device with tiny
capillaries) and solidified by cooling.
o The resulting filament is continuous and can be wound onto spools for further
processing1.
2. Extrusion Spinning:
o Involves feeding solid polymer pellets or granules into an extruder.
o The pellets are compressed, heated, and melted by an extrusion screw.
o The molten polymer is then pumped through a spinneret to form filaments1.
3. Direct Spinning:
o Bypasses the stage of solid polymer pellets.
o The polymer melt is directly pumped from the raw materials to the spinning
mill.
o Commonly used for high-capacity production of polyester fibers and
filaments1.
4. Solution Spinning:
o Used when the polymer’s melting temperature exceeds its degradation
temperature.
o The polymer is dissolved in a solvent to create a spinning solution (also called
a “dope”).
o Techniques include dry spinning, wet spinning, dry-jet wet spinning, gel
spinning, and electrospinning1.
5. Dry Spinning:
o A spinning solution containing polymer and a volatile solvent is extruded
through a spinneret.
o Hot air evaporates the solvent, solidifying the filaments.
o Solution blow spinning is a similar technique where polymer solution is
sprayed directly onto a target to produce nonwoven fiber mats1.
6. Wet Spinning:
o The oldest method among the five.
o The polymer is dissolved in a spinning solvent and extruded through a
spinneret submerged in a coagulation bath.
o The coagulation bath causes the polymer to precipitate into fiber form.
o Acrylic, rayon, aramid, modacrylic, and spandex are produced via wet
spinning1.
7. Gel Spinning (Semi-Melt Spinning):
o Used to achieve high strength or special properties in fibers.
o Relies on temperature-induced physical gelation for solidification.
Coating proces :
This process is similar to the metal casting process, and involves only heating and no
pressure is used. Usually liquid resins, such as phenolics, polyesters, silicones, acrylics and
expoxies, and also some cellulose derivatives, which can be considerably softened for
pouring, are used for casting.
The casting process is carried out as follows :
— The plastics are heated to a suitable temperature and poured into the moulds (Moulds
are made of lead, rubber, glass, plaster, wood or metal.
— A catalyst is added to unpolymerised plastics to help polymerisation.
— After due curing and hardening, the moulds are opened and castings knocked out.
— A few examples of such cast products include : sheets, films, jewellery, dies, jigs;
punches. In order to obtain different colour shades two or more plastics can be poured
together in the same mould.
The process is cheap, but slow; it is therefore quite suitable for small production.
Plastics of commercial significance that can be cast are nylon 6, epoxies, and acrylics.
The basic cast nylon formulation is used for heavy-duty applications requiring high
strength, resilience, and wear resistance and where lubrication is difficult if not impossible.
Advantages :
1. Accurately contoured product, such as the gears, that can be made several centimeters
thick and weighing upto about 200 kg, yet free of voids. Cast nylon weighs about 1/7 th the
weight of steel and has excellent sound and vibration damping qualities.
2. Owing to the slower cooling cycle in the casting process than in moulding, surfaces are
harder (more crystalline) and are more wear resistant.
3. Mould costs for casting are quite low compared to those for injection moulding.
4. Very economical.
Limitation :
Low production rate.
Injection molding,:
In this process, plastic material in a highly softened state is
forced to flow at high pressure through a nozzle into the mould cavity. The plastic solidifies
in the die and then ejected by opening the die. The shape of the component is almost in its
final form and can be produced in an extremely fast rate. Typical cycle times may be of the
order of 10 to 30 seconds. Unlike molten metal in diecasting, plastic melts have a high
viscosity and have to be injected with a large force into the hollow mould cavity. More melt
must also be packed into the mould during solidification to avoid shrinkage in the mould.
Injection moulding pressures usually range from 70 MPa to 200 MPa. Injection moulding is
the most widely used plastic-processing method. It can be used to produce a wide variety of
products. Very complex parts can be produced whose sizes may range from very small (50 g)
to very large (25 kg) with excellent control of tolerances. Most polymers may be injection
Construction
The machine in Fig. 12.4 shows a machine that has reciprocating and rotating
screw that is used for pressurising the softened plastic. This is the common pressurising
system found with most modern plastic-injection-moulding machines. The other machine,
shown in Fig. 12.5, shows a reciprocating plunger with a torpedo for pressurising. The
spreader or torpedo is used to produce uniform flow around machine component peripheries
and to produce desired flow-induced molecular structure. This is less common in the current
industrial machines.
The machine can be broadly broken into two parts, an injection unit and a clamping unit. The
injection unit of the reciprocating screw type machine is very similar to the system described
for extrusion machine. The function of the screw is to soften and pressurise the melt so that it
will be injected into the mould through the nozzle. The plastic granules or pellets will be fed
by gravity from the hopper into the barrel. The rotating screw will move them through the
plunger, while receiving heat from the electric resistance heaters around the barrel. As the
softened plastic reaches the end of the barrel, the screw acts like a ram and then pushes the
plastic through the nozzle. A non-return valve at the end of the screw ensures that plastic will
not flow along the threads of the screw. After the injection is over, the screw returns to its
normal position to continue with the next moulding cycle.
The clamping unit takes care of operating the mould. It holds the two halves of the mould
securely in the mould-closed position for the purpose of injection process and opens the
mould after the cooling of the plastic inside the mould and ejects the casting from the mould.
The structure of the clamping unit is very rigid to provide the necessary locking force, to take
care of the injection pressure depending upon the size of the part being moulded. Later the
mould is closed to start the next moulding cycle.
Advantages :
Limitations :
1. High tooling tool.
2. High volume production is required
Compression molding:
Compression moulding is the oldest plastic-processing
method. A compression mould is made of two halves with one each of which will be
connected to the platens of the press . The mould is electrically heated to maintain the
required temperature. Material is placed in the mould, and it is closed with a hydraulic
cylinder, or toggle clamp . The pressure maintained on the material is of the order of 14 to 40
MPa of moulding area. As the material comes in contact with the heated mould surface, it
softens and fills the entirecavity and at the same time initiates the chemical reaction which
cures the part. Cure time is determined by the thickest cross section, mould temperature,
material type and grade. After curing, the mould opens and the part is ejected . The most
widely used plastic is phenol-formaldehyde commonly known as ‘Bakelite’.
(i) The raw plastic material (i.e., charge) in the form of solid granules is placed in the cavity
of an open mould which has been preheated to a temperature of 120 to 240°C.240
(ii) A punch, also heated upto the same temperature, squeezes the material into the mould
cavity. The plastic material melts at this temperature and under the pressure of the
punch it flows into all portions of the mould cavity.
(iii) The material is kept inside the mould for sometime to allow it to cure under continued
exposure of heat and then removed (with aid of ejection pin) to obtain the final product.
A mould of this type gives closer tolerances and is usually cheapest to make.
Parts produced are simple with uniform wall thickness (usually not more than 3 mm).
This moulding process, owing to non-uniform pressure, often results in turbulence
and
uneven flow of liquid plastic in the mould.
Cold moulding. In this process, a powder or fibres (often of refractory materials) are mixed
with a binder and compacted in a cold die. These procedures are followed by curing in a
separate oven.
This method is not suitable where close tolerance and good surface finish is required.
Advantages of compression moulding :
1. Compression-moulded parts do not have high stresses, since the material is not forced
through gates.
2. The process is comparatively simple, which makes initial mould costs low.
3. Simple setting.
Limitations :
1. Used mainly for thermosetting plastics.
2. Medium production rate.
3. Dimensional accuracy not so good.
Transfer molding:
Transfer moulding is very similar to compression moulding and is developed to avoid the
disadvantages found in that process. In this method, thermosetting charge is heated and
compressed in a separate chamber and then injected in to the closed mould where it is
allowed to cool and solidify. Transfer moulding is capable of moulding part shapes that are
more intricate than compression moulding but not as intricate as inject
In transfer moulding,
the thermosetting charge is loaded into transfer pot immediately above the mould cavity as
shown in Fig. 12.21(a). Here, the charge is heated and pressure is applied to force the
softened polymer to flow into the heated mould where curing takes place, as shown in Fig.
12.21(b). Curing time required in transfer moulding is less than that required for compression
moulding. After the curing, the transfer ram is retracted while the moulded part is ejected
from the mould as shown in Fig. 12.21(c). Sprue and the leftover metal with the ram called
cull are scrap and need to be discarded since they cannot be recycled. . Tool maintenance is
relatively low because of the smaller pressures involved. However, it generates waste
material in the form of cull and sprue. Compared to compression moulding, high moulding
pressures are required for the transfer process, so fewer cavities can be put into a press of the
same capacity
Step of transfer molding
Advantages :
1. This process provides relatively close tolerances and fairly uniform density.
2. The operation is easier and enables trouble free production of intricate parts with thin
sections as the mould is not directly subjected to the compression force.
3. High production rate.
4. Medium tooling cost.
Limitations :
1. The transfer moulds are more complex and more costly to build.
2. Loss of material as scrap
Blow molding:
Stretch blow moulding is best known for producing PET bottles
commonly used for water, juice and a variety of other products. It produces a part with the
required properties for the work material by producing desirable molecular orientation. In this
process, a preform or parison is elongated mechanically in the mould and then expanded
radially in the blowing process. As a result, the desirable resulting molecular orientation
yields a material with increased strength. This biaxial stretching of material increases the
tensile strength, barrier properties, drop impact, clarity and top load in the container. With
these increases, it is usually possible to reduce the overall weight in a container by 10 to 15
percent less than when producing a container by simpler blow-moulding techniques. Stretch
blow lisable polymers such as polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The production of a preform similar to the injection blow moulding process.
The parison and the blow-rod assembly is then transferred to the blow mould, and the mould
is closed around it as shown in Fig. 12.15(b). The preform is reheated before it is placed in
the bottle mould. The softened parison is stretched to about twice its original length as shown
in Fig. 12.15(b). Compressed air is then blown into the stretched parison to expand to the
contours of the mould, as shown in Fig. 12.15(c). Once the bottle is cooled, the mould is
opened and the finished bottle is removed from the mould cavity
Advantages :
1. High production rate.
2. Hollow shapes of various sizes with thin walls can be produced.
3. Low cost for making hollow shapes.
Limitation :
Limited to production of hollow shapes.
Rotational molding:
Rotational moulding In this process, the product is formed inside a closed mould that is rotated
about two axes as heat is applied.
— Liquid or powdered thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic is poured into the mould,
either manually or automatically. The mould halves are then clamped shut.
— The loaded mould is then rolled into an oven where it spins on both axes. Heat causes the
powdered materials to become semi liquid or the liquid materials to gel (Permissible
temperature ranges are considerably greater than for injection moulding). As the mould
rotates, the material is distributed on mould-cavity walls solely by gravitational force;
centrifugal force is not used.
— After the parts have been properly formed, the moulds are cooled by a combination of
cold-water spray, forced cold air, and/or cool liquid circulating inside the mould.
Advantages :
1. Rotational moulding can be used to make parts in sizes and shapes that would be difficult
by any other process.
2. Rotational moulds are relatively inexpensive when compared to moulds for injection and
blow moulding.
3. In short runs, rotational moulding is generally less expensive than most other moulding
processes.
4. Changing colours during a production run is comparatively easy, whereas in injection and
blow moulding it is costly and time consuming.
Limitations :
1. The part must be hollow and typical tolerances are ± 5%.
2. The cycle time is slow because of the loading and cumbersome part removal unless the
process is highly automated.
3. It is difficult to get varying wall thicknesses within a part, so parts are often designed
with reinforcing ribs to stiffen flat areas.
4.The range of mouldable materials is not as broad as it is for other moulding processes
Thermoforming:
In this process, a thermoplastic sheet can be formed into a three-
dimensional shape by the application of heat and differential pressures. First, the plastic sheet
is clamped to a frame and uniformly heated to make it soft and flowable. Then a differential
pressure (either vacuum, pressure or both) is applied to make the sheet conform to the shape
of a mould or die positioned below the frame. ‘‘Thermoforming’’ refers to heating a sheet of
plastic material until it becomes soft and pliable and then forming it either by vacuum, by air
pressure, or between matching mould halves.
— A sheet of thermoplastic material is placed over a die and heated until it becomes soft.
— A vacuum is then created inside the die cavity which draws down the heated plastic
sheet into the shape of the die.
— The material is then cooled, the vacuum is released and the final product is taken out.
Heating systems used include quartz lamps, small ceramic modules, gas-fired ovens, emitter
strip panels, and calrod-type resistance heaters. More recent developments include a
microprocessor with computer interfacing.
Advantages :
1. Relatively inexpensive tooling.
2. Shallow and cheap cavities can be produced.
3. High production rate.
4. Quite economical.
Limitation :
Dimensional accuracy not so good.
Applications :
The process is used in making of liners, panels,
housings, advertising signs, coffee-cream containers, meat
trays, egg cartons, etc.