Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol.71, No.11, 1739-1747, 1999
Melt rheology of segmented polyamides: Effect of block molecular weight
Segmented polyamides, also known as polyether-ester-amides, are composed of polyether and polyamide structural units. The rheological behavior of segmented polyamides with respect to the variations in the molecular weight of hard and soft blocks has been studied using a Monsanto Processability Tester. These systems exhibit pseudoplastic flow behavior. The shear viscosity of the segmented polyamides decreases with a decrease in hard block molecular weight up to 1500. However, at low shear rates, the shear viscosity shows marginal change with an increase in soft segment molecular weight. The equilibrium die swell increases with an increase in shear rate, but decreases with increasing temperature. The stress relaxation study of the segmented polyamides reveals that the stress developed during extrusion relaxes exponentially for all the systems. The equilibrium die swell at a fixed temperature and shear rate, the time required to relax a fixed amount of stress and the stress developed after a certain time interval decrease with a decrease in hard block molecular weight up to 1500, but increase with an increase in soft segment molecular weight. The activation energy of the melt flow process increases with the rate of shear in most of the cases.
Keywords:COPOLYMERS