Polystyrene pressure cooled

Polystyrene pellets can be impregnated with isopentane at room temperature and modest pressure. When the pellets are heated, they can be made to fuse together at the same time that the isopentane evaporates, foaming the polystyrene and cooling the assembly at the same time. Usually the pellets are prefoamed to some extent before being put into a mold to form a cup or some form of rigid packaging. 

In 1954 the surface fluorination of polyethylene sheets by using a soHd CO2 cooled heat sink was patented (44). Later patents covered the fluorination of PVC (45) and polyethylene bottles (46). Studies of surface fluorination of polymer films have been reported (47). The fluorination of polyethylene powder was described (48) as a fiery intense reaction, which was finally controlled by dilution with an inert gas at reduced pressures. Direct fluorination of polymers was achieved in 1970 (8,49). More recently, surface fluorinations of poly(vinyl fluoride), polycarbonates, polystyrene, and poly(methyl methacrylate), and the surface fluorination of containers have been described (50,51). Partially fluorinated poly(ethylene terephthalate) and polyamides such as nylon have excellent soil release properties as well as high wettabiUty (52,53). The most advanced direct fluorination technology in the area of single-compound synthesis and synthesis of high performance fluids is currently practiced by 3M Co. of St. Paul, Minnesota, and by Exfluor Research Corp. of Austin, Texas. 

Nonconductors, such as polystyrene (PS), may also be made to retain an applied electric charge for a period of time. These so-called elect rets may be produced by applying an electric field to a polymer at a temperature of about 35 K above its Tg and allowing it to cool below the Tg while still under the influence of the electric field. Slightly higher temperatures (7 + 55 K) are used when the polymer is allowed to flow under pressure while in the electric field. The retained charges, which are positive on one side and negative on the other side of the polymer, may be retained for several months. 

Procedure. Specimen Fabrication. The reinforcements were mixed into the polystyrene melt on a Farrell two-roll mill at 320°F. It was necessary to dry the asbestos fibers for 24 hr at 250°F prior to mixing to ensure the breakup of bundle aggregates. The milling/fluxing time was held to 8 min for all samples. The sheets obtained in milling were cut, crossplied, and compression molded in an open frame on a Wabash press. After they reached the platen temperature the material was held at 330 °F and 2000 psi for 6 min. The frame was then transferred to a cold press, and the sample was cooled under the same pressure. The test specimens were cut from ys-inch thick plates prepared in the foregoing manner. 

Thennoplastics are heat softening materials which can be repeatedly heated, made mobile and then reset to a solid state by cooling. Under conditions of fabrication these materials can be moulded (shaped in a mould) by temperature and pressure. Examples of thermoplastics are more numerous than thermosets, e.g. polyethylene, polyvinylchloride, polystyrene, polypropylene, nylon, polyester, polyvinylidene chloride, polycarbonate. Thermoplastics may be further divided into homopolymers which involve one type of monomer, e.g. ethylene polymerised to polyethylene, and copolymers, terpolymers, etc., which involve two or more monomers of different chemical substances. Polymerisation producing thermoplastics and thermoset materials usually follows two basic chemical mechanisms, i.e. condensation and addition polymerisation. 

For engineering purposes, the most useful classification of polymers is based on their thermal (thermomechanical) response. Under this scheme, polymers are classified as thermoplastics or thermosets. As the name suggests, thermoplastic polymers soften and flow under the action of heat and pressure. Upon cooling, the polymer hardens and assumes the shape of the mold (container). Thermoplastics, when compounded with appropriate ingredients, can usually withstand several of these heating and cooling cycles without suffering any structural breakdown. This behavior is similar to that of candle wax. Examples of thermoplastic polymers are polyethylene, polystyrene, and nylon. 

Polymers are divided in two main classes thermoplastics and thermosets, as illustrated in Figure 2.1. In the former, representing 80% of total plastics, macromolecules are not chemically bonded to each other. Thermoplastics become viscous when heated, allowing shaping under pressure, and solidify when cooled. This cycle can be repeated many times. The major thermoplastics in terms of volume are polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene (PS). Together these four pol3uners account for more than 90% of the total consumption of thermoplastics. They are homopolymers, where all monomers are identical, with a variety of... 

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