Tailoring Functionality and Durability of Polymeric Products by Modifying Processing Conditions

We investigate new possibilities for modifying functionality of polymeric products by changing their material structure during processing and consequently their time-dependent properties, which define the durability of final products. In the first part of the paper we report on significant differences in material structure as observed at atomistic scale due to differences in processing conditions. A short overview of recent studies on multi-scale phenomena in material structure formation is included. Several experimental approaches are proposed for studying the effect of processing conditions on material structure formation and hence, the macroscopic properties of the final polymeric product. The second part of the paper deals with two questions to be answered, (I) does current industrial polymer processing equipment (in our case extruder) allows processing under such conditions that initiate nonlinearities in the material structure formation processes, and (ii) to what extent can material structure be modified, and consequently the mechanical and other properties of the final polymeric product, by changing the thermo-mechanical boundary conditions (i.e., processing conditions). We demonstrate that it is possible to modem the functionality of the final polymeric products by modiffing the inherent material structure with properly selected processing conditions. We observed that the processing conditions within the range of temperatures and pressures that are typical for industrial extrusion of polymers can be changed so that we can significantly influence the structure formation and consequently the time-dependent mechanical properties of the material in solid state and, as a result, the functionality of the final product. Durability of polymeric products made from such material can be improved by several orders of magnitude! Utilizing this approach opens new possibilities for modifying the functionality of polymeric products and hence better competitiveness in the world market.