Polystyrene melt fracture

Looking at the melt fracture of specific polymers, we see many similarities and a few differences. Polystyrene extrudates begin to spiral from smooth at t 105 N/m2, and at higher shear stresses, they are grossly distorted. Visual observations show a wine glass entrance pattern with vortices that are stable at low stress values and spiral into the capillary and subsequently break down, as t is increased. Clearly, melt fracture is an entrance instability phenomenon for this polymer. 

Schweizer [116] reported that it was possible to avoid edge fracture with a commercial polystyrene melt by use of a partitioned plate, making it possible to determine the viscosity at shear rates up to 100 s ... 

Fig. 2.20 Examples of electron micrographs of polymers, (a) A defocussed bright-field image of a thin film of isotactic polystyrene annealed and crystallised at about 170 °C (b) An image of a fracture surface replica from a sample of linear polyethylene crystallised from the melt at 4.95 kbar. ((a) Adapted by permission of Masaki Tsuji and (b) adapted from Principles of Polymer Morphology by D. C. Bassett. Cambridge University Press 1981.)...

The addition of nanoparticles to synthetic rubber resulting in enhancement in thermal, stiffness and resistance to fracture is one of the most important phenomena in material science technology. The commonly used white filler in mbber industry are clay and silica. The polymer/clay nanocomposites offer enhanced thermo mechanical properties. Bourbigot et al. observed that the thermal stability of polystyrene (PS) is significandy increased in presence of nanoclay [75]. Thermal and mechanical properties of clays multiwalled carbon nanotubes reinforced ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) prepared through melt blending showed synergistic effect in properties [76]. 

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