Phase structure and adhesion in polymer blends: a criterion for rubber toughening

Rheology, phase morphology, mechanical, impact and thermal properties of polypropylene/metallocene catalysed ethylene 1-octene copolymer blends

Jute fiber is an important agricultural product. It is one of the most common natural fibers in Third World countries such as India, China, Bangladesh, etc. The jute industry has special importance in the economy of India and continues to be a major traditional earner of foreign exchange. However, it is facing tough competition from the synthetic fibers. Jute fibers find use in sophisticated fields like decorative and furnishing materials such as lamp shades, wall covers, curtains, upholsteries, etc. Today it is the least expensive fiber of mass consumption, at only a fraction of the cost of glass fibers; in terms of volume, jute is now the second most important fiber in the world, next to cotton. In the traditional applications in carpets, ropes, sacks, etc., jute fibers have been partially replaced by synthetic fibers which have some advantages compared to jute. In order to ensure a reasonable return to farmers, nontraditional outlets have to be explored for the fiber. One such avenue is in the...

Studies on Jute Composites—A Literature Review

Micromechanical deformation processes in toughened and particle-filled semicrystalline polymers: Part 1. Characterization of deformation processes in dependence on phase morphology

This book represents the first in a series entitled Polymeric Foams: Technology and Applications. Generally, thermoplastic and thermoset foams have been treated as two separate practices in industry. Polymeric Foams: Mechanisms and Materials provides the basics of foaming in general, providing a convenient and strong foundation to those working in both thermoplastic and thermoset foams. The book addresses scientific principles behind polymeric foaming and presents foaming chemistry and physics, resin and blowing agents, and foaming mechanisms in separate chapters, thus providing an overall and fundamental understanding of foaming for polymeric foam products and processes.

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Polymeric Foams : Mechanisms and Materials

The state of dispersion of poly(ethylene-co-propylene) (PEP) rubber and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) in polypropylene (PP) blends was investigated using scanning electron microscopy to examine solvent-etched microtomed surfaces cut at low temperatures. The validity of the method was established by comparing the areal fraction of dispersed particles in micrographs with the volume fraction of PEP and HDPE in PP-rich blends. When small amounts of PEP and HDPE were added to PP, they combined to form composite PEP–HDPE particles with characteristic internal structures in a PP matrix. Changes in impact strength and flexural modulus with changes in mixing conditions and blend composition were determined and interpreted in terms of the size, composition, and internal structure of the dispersed particles. Particle growth in the melt limited the impact strength level achieved in molded articles. A simple model proposed for screening rubbers for toughening of brittle plastics successfully predicts that PEP rubber should be an excellent impact modifier for PP.

C. Stanley Speed

Papers

Structure and properties of rubber-modified polypropylene impact blends

Causes of haze of low-density polyethylene blown films