X‐ray absorption,particle orientation,and rheological behavior of talc–calcite mixed‐particle compounds in a polystyrene matrix

This article presents experimental studies of (a) X‐ray absorption, (b) particle orientation, and (c) the shear viscosity of ternary talc–calcite–polystyrene compounds. A quantitative investigation of X‐ray absorption using a wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) intensity method for binary mixture (PS/talc, PS/calcite) systems and ternary mixtures (PS/talc/calcite) systems is reported. The Alexander–Klug equation was used to interpret the data. X‐ray diffraction pole figures indicate that talc particles orient in shear flows perpendicular to the direction of shear with their surfaces parallel to die/mold walls. There was a general tendency in mixed particle systems for the talc particles to decrease in orientation with increasing calcite content. The shear viscosity of the compounds was measured and found to increase with increasing particle loading and vary with particle composition. The talc, calcite, and talc/calcite‐filled thermoplastic melts at higher loadings were found by creep measurements to exhibit yield values, i.e., stresses below which there is no flow. We found a viscosity–shear stress plateau at low shear stress. The true yield values are much lower than yield values measured by extrapolation of higher shear stress data. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 1787–1802, 1999