Transient flow-induced crystallization of a polyethylene melt

✍ Scribed by A. C. Bushman; A.J. McHugh

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 337 KB
• Volume: 64
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19970613)64:11<2165::aid-app13>3.0.co;2-3

✦ Synopsis

Extensional, flow-induced crystallization (FIC) of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) melt has been studied using a four-roll mill flow cell. Simultaneous measurement of the birefringence and scattering dichroism are used to quantify the crystallization process during and following transient flow deformation in planar extensional flow. Suspension of the HDPE phase as a droplet in a linear low-density polyethylene carrier phase prevents die blockage on crystallization and allows measurement of the flow kinematics. Initial crystallization rates following a transient flow deformation show a stress-strain dependence. Crystallization induction times during flow correlate with the extension rate during the transient flow deformation. Measurement of the HDPE melt steady and oscillatory flow rheological properties, along with measurements of time constants following step-shear and extensional strains, allow determination of the viscoelastic properties which enhance FIC. Parameters obtained from these experiments are used in a phenomenological model for FIC which allows qualitative and semiquantitative analysis of the data trends, particularly the relaxation behavior of the birefringence during flow cessation/crystallization.