ISSN:
0032-3888
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Chemical Engineering
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
Polyolefinic thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) is a two-phase material in which cured EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene rubber) particles are densely dispersed in a PP (polypropylene) matrix. It can be melt-processed at high temperatures and behaves like a vulcanized rubber at ambient temperature. The question is on its strain recovery, i.e., why the TPE can shrink back from the highly deformed states, even though the matrix consists of the ductile polymer. We constructed a two-dimensional model with four rubber inclusions in ductile matrix and carried out the elastic-plastic analysis on the deformation mechanism of the two-phase system by FEM (finite element method). FEM analysis revealed that, even at the highly deformed states at which almost the whole matrix has been yielded by the stress concentration, the ligament matrix between rubber inclusions in the stretching direction is locally preserved within an elastic limit and it acts as an “in-situ formed adhesive” for interconnecting rubber particles. It will provide a key mechanism of the strain recovery in the two-phase system.
Additional Material:
9 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pen.760311406
Permalink
