Effects of ultrasonic oscillations on rheological behavior and mechanical properties of novel propylene-based plastomers

The effects of ultrasonic oscillations on the die pressure, productivity of extrusion, melt apparent viscosity, melt surface appearance, and die swell of novel propylene-based plastomers were studied in a specially designed ultrasonic oscillations extrusion system developed in our laboratory. The effects of ultrasonic oscillations on molecular weights, tensile strength, and dynamic mechanical properties of extrudates were also studied. The experimental results showed that the presence of ultrasonic oscillations during extrusion could significantly increase the productivity of plastomers at the same die pressure, and reduce die swell and melt fracture such as sharkskin at a given screw rotation speed. The die pressure and apparent viscosity of plastomers remarkably decreased with increasing ultrasonic intensity. Introduction of ultrasonic oscillations into plastomer melts can improve their processibility. The possible mechanism for ultrasonic improvement of rheological behavior was also proposed in this article. Under certain conditions, ultrasound-assisted extrusion could slightly decrease the glass transition temperature (Tg) and storage modulus of plastomers due to the minor reduction in molecular weights, but showed no significant impact on yield strength and strength at break. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007