Effect of acoustic excitation on fiber-reinforced polypropylene and the influence on melt viscosity

The paper describes a novel technological approach to influencing the rheological properties of thermoplastic materials exposed to acoustic energy. The flow behavior of polypropylene with different mass percentages of glass fibers is investigated in a parallel plate rheometer under high-frequency longitudinal excitation. The influence of oscillation frequency on the melt viscosity is explained by means of shear thinning criteria. The dependence of the oscillation shape using sinusoidal excitation on shear thinning as a function of different fiber reinforcement percentages is also investigated. A phenomenological view describes the mutually influencing parameters with regard to different material compositions and different excitation frequencies over the time course of the rheometric measurement. Interacting relationships are analyzed and discussed and the potential of the actuator system to influence the plastic melt is worked out. Based on this, a technological approach follows which describes the transfer of an oscillating mold surface to plastics processing methods, which, especially in the case of energy-intensive injection molding technology, leads to the expectation of possible resource efficiency in energy and material.