Rossi-Peakes flow test

The so-called flow temperature cannot be considered to be either the processing temperature or the maximum service temperature. It is obtained using the highly arbitrary Rossi-Peakes flow test (BS 1524) and is the temperature at which the compound is forced down a capillary of fixed dimensions by a fixed load at a specified rate. It is thus of use only for comparison and for quality control purposes. Since the rates of shear and temperatures used in processing are vastly different from those used in this test, extreme caution should be taken when assessing the result of flow temperature tests. 

There is no entirely satisfactory way of measuring flow. In the BS 2782 flow cup test an amount of moulding powder is added to the mould to provide between 2 and 2.5 g of flash. The press is closed at a fixed initial rate and at a fixed temperature and pressure. The time between the onset of recorded pressure and the cessation of flash (i.e. the time at which the mould has closed) is noted. This time is thus the time required to move a given mass of material a fixed distance and is thus a measure of viscosity. It is not a measure of the time available for flow. This property, or rather the more important length of flow or extent of flow, must be measured by some other device such as the flow disc or by the Rossi-Peakes flow test, neither of which are entirely satisfactory. Cup flow times are normally of the order of 10-25 seconds if measured by the BS specification. Moulding powders are frequently classified as being of stiff flow if the cup flow time exceeds 20 seconds, medium flow for times of 13-19 seconds and soft flow or free flow if under 12 seconds. 

Rossi-Peakes tester n. An instrument for measuring the temperature at which a given amount of a molding powder will flow through a standard orifice in a prescribed period of time and pressure (ASTM Test D 569). The instrument tests a peculiar combination of properties of a thermoplastic molding compound that may relate to its moldability. 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , ]

See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , ]

See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , ]

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