Injection moulding viscosity

Polymers owe much of their attractiveness to their ease of processing. In many important teclmiques, such as injection moulding, fibre spinning and film fonnation, polymers are processed in the melt, so that their flow behaviour is of paramount importance. Because of the viscoelastic properties of polymers, their flow behaviour is much more complex than that of Newtonian liquids for which the viscosity is the only essential parameter. In polymer melts, the recoverable shear compliance, which relates to the elastic forces, is used in addition to the viscosity in the description of flow [48]. 

When you have to estimate how a change of temperature changes the viscosity of a polymer (in calculating forces for injection moulding, for instance), this is the equation to use. 

The flow process in an injection mould is complicated by the fact that the mould cavity walls are below the freezing point of the polymer melt. In these circumstances the technologist is generally more concerned with the ability to fill the cavity rather than with the magnitude of the melt viscosity. In one analysis made of the injection moulding situation, Barrie showed that it was possible to calculate a mouldability index (p.) for a melt which was a function of the flow parameters K and the thermal diffusivity and the relevant processing temperatures (melt temperature and mould temperature) but which was independent of the geometry of the cavity and the flow pattern within the cavity. 

This rubber has a very high melt viscosity and this was reduced by using a polar flow promoter such as zinc stearate at levels of 9.5 and 19%. This not only reduced the viscosity at low shear rates but also increased the level of pseudoplasticity so that at the high shear rates used in injection moulding flow was even more enhanced. 

Injection moulding and extrusion may be carried out at temperatures in the range of 300-380°C. The polymer has a high melt viscosity and melt fracture occurs at a lower shear rate (about 10 s ) than with low-density polyethylene (about 10 s ) or nylon 66 (about 10 s ). Extruders should thus be designed to operate at low shear rates whilst large runners and gates are employed in injection moulds. 

The polymer melts at 216°C and above this temperature shows better cohesion of the melt than PTFE. It may be processed by conventional thermoplastics processing methods at temperatures in the range 230-290°C. Because of the high melt viscosity high injection moulding pressures are required. 

Cast material is stated to have a number average molecular weight of about 10. Whilst the Tg is about 104°C the molecular entanglements are so extensive that the material is incapable of flow below its decomposition temperature (approx. 170°C). There is thus a reasonably wide rubbery range and it is in this phase that such material is normally shaped. For injection moulding and extrusion much lower molecular weight materials are employed. Such polymers have a reasonable melt viscosity but marginally lower heat distortion temperatures and mechanical properties. 

Unlike other water-soluble resins the poly(ethylene oxide)s may be injection moulded, extruded and calendered without difficulty. The viscosity is highly dependent on shear rate and to a lesser extent on temperature. Processing temperatures in the range 90-130°C may be used for polymers with an intrinsic viscosity of about 2.5. (The intrinsic viscosity is used as a measure of molecular weight.)... 

Injection moulding compositions have a number of requirements with regard to granule flow and cure characteristics not always met by conventional formulations. For example, granules should be free-flowing (i.e. of a narrow particle size distribution and not too irregular in shape). There are also certain requirements in terms of viscosity. 

Because of their low viscosity the liquid cyclic aliphatic resins find use in injection moulding and extrusion techniques, as used for glass-reinforced laminates. They are also very useful diluents for the standard glycidyl ether resins. 

The early 1980s saw considerable interest in a new form of silicone materials, namely the liquid silicone mbbers. These may be considered as a development from the addition-cured RTV silicone rubbers but with a better pot life and improved physical properties, including heat stability similar to that of conventional peroxide-cured elastomers. The ability to process such liquid raw materials leads to a number of economic benefits such as lower production costs, increased ouput and reduced capital investment compared with more conventional rubbers. Liquid silicone rubbers are low-viscosity materials which range from a flow consistency to a paste consistency. They are usually supplied as a two-pack system which requires simple blending before use. The materials cure rapidly above 110°C and when injection moulded at high temperatures (200-250°C) cure times as low as a few seconds are possible for small parts. Because of the rapid mould filling, scorch is rarely a problem and, furthermore, post-curing is usually unnecessary. 

Since the reactants have a low viscosity, the injection pressures are relatively low in the RIM process. Thus, comparing a conventional injection moulding machine with a RIM machine having the same clamp force, the RIM machine could produce a moulding with a much greater projected area (typically about 10 times greater). Therefore the RIM process is particularly suitable for large... 

In ntosl respects the process is similar to the injection moulding of thermoplastics and the sequence of operations in a single cycle is as described earlier. For thermosets a special barrel and screw are used. The screw is of approximately constant depth over its whole length and there is no check value which might cause material blockages (see Fig. 4.50). The barrel is only kept warm (80-110°C) rather than very hot as with thermoplastics because the material must not cure in this section of the machine. Also, the increased viscosity of the thermosetting materials means that higher screw torques and injection pressures (up to 200 MN/m are needed). 

Simple ram machines are cheaper than screw machines having equivalent shot volumes. Although the simple ram injection moulding machine was once quite widely used it was generally obsolescent by 1977. Plasticisation by screw is quicker and more controllable than by heat conduction in simple ram machines. A higher and more uniform compound temperature and thus a more uniform viscosity is achieved. 

Fig.4. The relationship between viscosity and shear rate for silicon containing ceramic injection moulding formulations given in Table 1 (at 225 °C). (A) FI (X) F2 ( ) F3 (M) F4 [22]...

Fig.5. The relationship between viscosity and shear rate for zirconia/wax binder injection moulding formulations (at 100 °C). n is the flow behaviour index. Ceramic filler volume fraction (%) ( ) 50 (A) 55 (V) 60 (O) 65 (+) 70 [26]...

Hunt et al. [ 17] have investigated the role of various coupling agents, such as zirconates, titanates, and zircoaluminates, in zirconia-polypropylene suspensions for use in the production of ceramics by injection moulding. All the coupling agents were observed to reduce the melt viscosity. 

Now let s summarize the data on the viscosity of PVC plastisols. First, as concerning injection moulding (filling of thin moulds), both the plastisols (those showing and those not showing thyxotropic phenomena) may be considered as non-linear liquids with no characteristic times provided that the filling time is much larger than the characteristic time of the medium. 

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