GT70 - Abstract Preview
GT70
Symposium: S01 - General Session
Poster Presentation
 
 

Thermal and morphological approach of impact improvement of high fluidity PP blends through reactive extrusion

JOSSE Camille (1)*, MASSARDIER Valerie (2), VIOT Frederic (1), CASSAGNAU Philippe (3)

(1) PLASTIC OMNIUM - SAINTE JULIE - France, (2) INSA DE LYON - VILLEURBANNE - France, (3) UNIVERSITE LYON 1 - VILLEURBANNE - France

During the last three decades, polypropylene (PP) has been one of the most studied thermoplastic because of its great versatility, easy processing and relative low cost. Many enhancements have been carried out to compensate its high brittleness, essentially by blending with a thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer (POE) of very low glass transition like ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR), ethylene-propylene-diene monomer (EPDM) or ethylene-octene copolymer (EOC). The use of such materials into a PP matrix not only greatly increases the impact strength and the crack propagation resistance but also has a considerable thickening effect of the melt residing in the very high viscosity of POEs. Nevertheless, in the focus of weight and cost reductions, the automotive industry steps towards the use of very high flow materials (MFR > 30 dg/min) without sacrificing the impact properties. Against this background, we have investigated an original strategy consisting in the reactive extrusion of a common (PP/EPR) with a “reactive” PP of very high melt flow and different POEs. Several formulations have been realized then the physical, thermal and rheological properties have been discussed. A qualitative approach of the morphology and dynamic mechanical studies were carried out to allow explaining the behavior of the composite. Although we often have observed a compromise between fluidity and impact properties, some of the achieved materials exhibit a melt flow rate above 40 dg/min while keeping a great ductile behavior with incomplete notched Charpy fracture.