The effect of average molecular weight (Mw) of polyoxymethylene (POM) on melt viscosity and solid state creep compliance were investigated. Viscosity follows the power function of Mw. Creep compliance results indicate that time-temperature superposition applies to POM copolymers. Creep compliance in ashort time (0.25 s) is independent of Mw, but in a longer time (10 years) it follows an inverse power law relation with Mw, up to a critical value of Mw = 81 100, where creep compliance becomes independent of Mw. At intermediate time (17 min), similar to short one, no effect on susceptibility to creep compliance was observed. It was also stated that the activation energy is independent of Mw.
COBISS.SI-ID: 14235931
Powder injection molding (PIM) is one of the most versatile methods for manufacturing small complex shaped components from metal, ceramic powders for the use in many applications. Interesting applications of PIM include the automotive and aerospace industries. PIM can be used to combine multiple parts into a single part with complex geometry, and parts are lighter since porosity remains in the final part while the fatigue resistance increases. Therefore, it can be said that PIM can help reduce the weight of moving vehicles, which is a major concern from the environmental and economic point of view. One of the main limitations of current PIM technology is the long debinding time, which is one of the steps within the process. This has been partially solved by introducing binder systems that undergo catalytic sublimation. However, current catalytic binders have the main problem of high viscosity. In this study, two ways to decrease the viscosity of PIM feedstock materials with polyoxymethylene were investigated. The first way was to reduce the average molecular weight of the binder and the second one to select a polydisperse particle size distribution with high maximum packing fraction.
COBISS.SI-ID: 14291995
Flow of granular materials is a complex process but it is important to measure, because the flow of granular material during processing, handling and transportation strongly influences the quality of the final product and its cost. Flowability of granular materials depends on the characteristics of the material and on the conditions at which flow is occurring. Existing methods of measuring flowability of powders are described in this paper, and a new methodology is introduced to measure friction between granular materials under pressure induced with uniaxial compression. Apparatus also allows analysis of conditions at which granular material starts to flow when exposed to uniaxial compressive load, i.e., zero-rate flowability. We call the apparatus the Granular Friction Analyzer (GFA). The concept of the GFA was tested by measuring four different materials with different average particle sizes. It was observed that as the particle size decreases so does its zero-rate flowability. This is in agreement with powder literature. Therefore, it can be concluded that in general the GFA method can be a very useful tool to study friction between granular materials and conditions at which the granular material flow initiates, i.e. zero-rate flowability of powders under pressure. However, further improvements are required to increase its sensitivity and accuracy.
COBISS.SI-ID: 14351899