Residual stresses and birefringence in injection molding of amorphous polymers: Simulation and comparison with experiment

A physical modeling and a two‐dimensional numerical simulation of the injection‐molding of a disk cavity by using a hybrid finite element method (FEM) and finite difference method (FDM) are presented. Three stages of the injection‐molding cycle––filling, packing, and cooling––are included. The total residual stresses are taken to be a sum of the flow stresses calculated using a compressible nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive equation and the thermal stresses calculated using a linear viscoelastic constitutive equation. The total residual birefringence is taken to be the sum of the flow birefringence related to the flow stresses through the stress–optical rule, and the thermal birefringence related to the thermal stresses through the photoviscoelastic constitutive equation. The Tait equation is used to describe the P‐V‐T relationship. The simulation shows that without packing the birefringence in the surface layer of moldings, with its maximum near the surface, is caused by the frozen‐in flow birefringence (flow stresses) and in the core region by the frozen‐in thermal birefringence (thermal stresses). With packing, a second birefringence maximum appears between the center and the position of the first maximum due to flow in the packing stage. The predicted birefringence profiles and extinction angle profiles are found to be in fair agreement with corresponding measurements in literature for disk moldings. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 622–639, 2006     

The minimum free energy for incompressible viscoelastic fluids

A general closed expression is given in the frequency domain for the isothermal minimum free energy of an incompressible viscoelastic fluid, whose constitutive equation is expressed by a linear functional of the history of strain. Another equivalent form of the minimum free energy is also derived and used to study the particular case of a discrete model material response. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blow-up of solutions for a viscoelastic equation with nonlinear damping

The initial boundary value problem for a viscoelastic equation with nonlinear damping in a bounded domain is considered. By modifying the method, which is put forward by Li, Tasi and Vitillaro, we sententiously proved that, under certain conditions, any solution blows up in finite time. The estimates of the life-span of solutions are also given. We generalize some earlier results concerning this equation.      

Stability of a viscoelastic plate in fluid flow

The stability of an infinite viscoelastic plate on an elastic foundation in a viscous incompressible flow is studied. The Navier-Stokes system is linearized for an exponential velocity profile. The problem is reduced by a Fourier-Laplace transform to a system of ordinary differential equations, whose solution is found in the form of convergent series. The roots of the dispersion relation that characterize the stability of the system are found numerically. The effect of the viscosities of the fluid and the plate on the stability of the waves propagating upstream and downstream is studied. The results are compared with available data on the stability of a viscoelastic plate in an ideal fluid flow. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 66–74, July–August, 2006.     

Plasticized polylactide/clay nanocomposites. II. The effect of aging on structure and properties in relation to the filler content and the nature of its organo‐modification

Plasticized polylactide (PLA) – layered silicate nanocomposites were obtained by melt blending PLA with polyethylene glycol as plasticizer (20 wt %) and with different montmorillonite fillers: Cloisite® 20A, Cloisite® 25A, and Cloisite® 30B (from 1 to 10 wt %). Comparative samples of melt‐blended polylactide (without filler) and plasticized PLA with 20 wt % PEG were considered as well. Samples have been aged for 1 and 4 years and their chemical and physical characteristics were compared with not aged reference ones. It was found that molecular weight of the PLA decreased upon melt‐processing and aging, particularly when the Cloisite content increased, without a clear relation to the nature of the organo‐modifier. On the contrary, the PEG plasticizer was practically undegraded upon melt processing and aging. Structural studies revealed that plasticized PLA and plasticized PLA‐based nanocomposites are unstable in time of aging and undergo deplasticization. They showed, after aging, the presence of a thin PEG crystalline layer at the surface of the samples and improved the order in the PLA matrix to a higher extent in plasticized polylactide than in plasticized nanocomposite (due to clay stabilization effect). The amount of PEG diffusing toward sample surface was correlated with aging time, molecular weight of PLA matrix, and Cloisite® type, in clear relation to the extent of intercalation with PLA and PEG. Some modifications of the viscoelastic properties of PLA matrix, induced by the presence of both the nanoparticlate filler and the plasticizer, as well as a deterioration of the mechanical properties upon aging were observed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 312–325, 2006     

Effects of ultrasonic oscillations on linear viscoelastic behaviors of metallocene‐catalyzed linear low density polyethylene and its blends with low density polyethylene

The effects of ultrasonic oscillations on linear viscoelastic behaviors of metallocene‐catalyzed linear low density polyethylene (mLLDPE) and its blends with low density polyethylene (LDPE) were investigated in this article. The experimental results showed that ultrasonic oscillations can increase the cross modulus, characteristic time, plateau modulus, complex viscosity, zero shear viscosity, and flow activation energy of mLLDPE. Molecular weight of mLLDPE increases but molecular polydispersity index decreases in the presence of ultrasonic oscillations. It has been found for mLLDPE/LDPE blends that the addition of LDPE as well as ultrasonic oscillations can decrease the cross modulus but increase the characteristic time of the blends. The complex viscosity, zero shear viscosity, and flow activation energy of the blends increase by the addition of LDPE, but decrease in the presence of ultrasonic oscillations. Shear thinning effect of the blends is improved because of the addition of LDPE. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 3030–3043, 2005     

Adhesion curves between two viscoelastic materials by a point‐contact method in a crossed‐cylinder geometry

We investigated an evaluation method of adhesion between two cylindrical viscoelastic materials by a point contact in a crossed‐cylinder geometry. The shape of the adhesion curve obtained in this technique is characterized not only by the maximum adhesion force, F_A, but also by the adhesion force at complete separation, F_S. To clarify the factors that determine the characteristic properties of the adhesion curve, the adhesion forces of a highly crosslinked polydimethylsiloxane were measured as a function of the separation velocity. As a result, F_A and F_S strongly depended on the separation velocity. To understand the experimental results, a simulation of the separation behavior was carried out using the Generalized Maxwell model, which could qualitatively reproduce the experimental observations. From these results, we discussed the factors that determine the adhesion curve and clarified the uniqueness and advantages of this evaluation method. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1778–1788, 2009     

Stimuli‐responsive reversible physical networks. II. Design and properties of homogeneous physical networks consisting of periodic copolymers synthesized by living cationic polymerization

The design and precision synthesis of physical networks consisting of copolymers with crystallizable pendant groups are described in this work. Amphiphilic periodic, statistical, and gradient copolymers consisting of octadecyl vinyl ether (ODVE) units were synthesized via living cationic polymerization. The synthesis involved the copolymerization of ODVE and 2‐methoxyethyl vinyl ether (hydrophilic) with an 1‐(isobutoxy)ethyl acetate [CH₃CH(OiBu)OCOCH₃]/Et_1.5AlCl_1.5 initiating system in the presence of a weak Lewis base to yield copolymers with very narrow molecular weight distributions (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight ? 1.2). All aqueous solutions of the copolymers behaved as a viscous liquid above 50 °C. When cooled below 25 °C, the solutions turned into transparent, transient physical gels (exhibiting terminal flow), regardless of the sequence distribution. Viscoelastic studies showed that a periodic copolymer gave a hard gel that was more brittle than the gels obtained from the corresponding statistical and gradient copolymers. This difference and the differences in the relaxation time and relaxation mode distribution of the copolymer gels were consistent with the sequence distributions of ODVE in the respective copolymers. These results indicate that the mechanical properties of a physical network can be controlled by the primary polymer structures. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2712‐2722, 2005     

The Mexican hat effect on the delamination buckling of a compressed thin film

Because of the interaction between film and substrate,the film buckling stress can vary significantly,depending on the delamination geometry,the film and substrate mechanical properties.The Mexican hat effect indicates such interaction.An analytical method is presented,and related dimensional analysis shows that a single dimensionless parameter can effectively evaluate the effect.