Thermomechanical environment characterisation in injection moulding and its relation to the mechanical properties of talc-filled polypropylene

This study is focused on the establishment of relationships between the injection moulding processing conditions, the applied thermomechanical environment (TME) and the tensile properties of talc-filled polypropylene, adopting a new extended concept of thermomechanical indices (TMI). In this approach, TMI are calculated from computational simulations of the moulding process that characterise the TME during processing, which are then related to the mechanical properties of the mouldings. In this study, this concept is extended to both the filling and the packing phases, with new TMI defined related to the morphology developed during these phases. A design of experiments approach based on Taguchi orthogonal arrays was adopted to vary the injection moulding parameters (injection flow rate, injection temperature, mould wall temperature and holding pressure), and thus, the TME. Results from analysis of variance for injection-moulded tensile specimens have shown that among the considered processing conditions, the flow rate is the most significant parameter for the Young’s modulus; the flow rate and melt temperature are the most significant for the strain at break; and the holding pressure and flow rate are the most significant for the stress at yield. The yield stress and Young’s modulus were found to be governed mostly by the thermostress index (TSI, related to the orientation of the skin layer), whilst the strain at break depends on both the TSI and the cooling index (CI, associated to the crystallinity degree of the core region). The proposed TMI approach provides predictive capabilities of the mechanical response of injection-moulded components, which is a valuable input during their design stage.Foundation for Science and Technology, Lisbon, through the 3 Quadro Comunita´rio de Apoio, the POCTI and FEDER programs, and project PEst-C/CTM/LA0025/2011

Embranquecimento do polipropileno isotático injetado contendo TiO2 como pigmento Whitening mechanism in injection molded polypropylene with TiO2 as pigment

Descrevemos neste trabalho as causas e o mecanismo do embranquecimento de peças de polipropileno isotático injetado. Para isto foram injetados corpos de prova e placas com e sem estabilizantes. As amostras foram envelhecidas por exposição ambiental e em equipamento de envelhecimento acelerado (Weatherometer). Foi feito o acompanhamento visual das peças para que pudessem ser caracterizadas quando começassem a embranquecer. A caracterização foi feita através de espectroscopia FT-IR por reflectância, Microscopia eletrônica de varredura, Microfluorescência de raios-X, Reflectância de luz e Microanálise de energia dispersiva (EDS) da superfície. Os espectros de infravermelho mostraram o aparecimento de diversos produtos de degradação como cetonas, aldeídos, ácidos carboxílicos, ésteres, perésteres e alfa-cetoésteres. Quando as amostras começaram a embranquecer foi verificada a formação de fissuras superficiais e o aumento da reflectância de luz para todos os comprimentos de onda do espectro. Concomitantemente foi verificado que a composição de superfície não é alterada pelo envelhecimento. A superfície não apresenta grande quantidade de partículas de TiO2 expostas. Conclui-se que o embranquecimento das peças é devido ao fissuramento superficial que aumenta a quantidade de luz refletida na superfície e não pela migração do pigmento.<br>We studied in this work the whitening mechanism in injection molded polypropylene (PP), a problem usually manifested in car parts and particularly in car bumpers. For the development of this work we had samples (plaques and test samples) with and without antioxidants and ultraviolet stabilizers. These samples had been already aged by natural and artificial (Weatherometer equipment) exposure. In the natural aging samples were collected when the material started to whiten, after 3190, 4320 and 6190 h of exposure. In the artificial aging samples were collected after 415, 515 and 3000 h of exposure. The samples were characterized by visual observation, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, surface total light reflectance and titanium mapping in the samples cross section by X-ray microfluorescence and X-ray difraction of the TiO2 used in the formulation. When the samples start to whiten we observe the evolution of surface fissures which increase the surface roughness. This is followed by an increase in the total light reflection by the surface for all wavelengths. We observed that titanium is almost homogeneously distributed along samples cross section. In addition, we did not observe high concentration of exposed TiO2 on the surface. We conclude that the whitening phenomenon is a consequence of surface fissures evolution, which provides higher surface roughness and is followed by a higher surface diffuse light reflectance