Sharif Digital Repository

Polypropylene/clay nanocomposites are considered as a group of widely used nanocomposites in industrial applications due to their desired properties, yet reasonable cost. However, dissimmilar chemical nature of polypropylene and clay do not allow perfect dispersion of silicate layeres in the matrix and thus restricts full advantages of these composites.An earlier investigation in this group considered solving this shortcoming through incorporation of PA6 as an intermediate phase to enhance clay platelets dispersion. The current project follows this route via studing the influence of molecular weight of the PP matrix, compatibilzer and the mixing procedure of the compound. To investigate the... 

Due to the negative effects of conventional plastics on the environment, especially in the packaging sector, extensive efforts have been put to replace these polymers with biodegradable polymers. Starch is one of the biodegradable polymers which has attracted a lot of attentions because of low cost and good process ability. Native starch has the form of granule and can be processed to a continuous phase after gelatinization in the presence of a plasticizer. The resulting material is a biodegradable plastic-like material called thermoplastic starch (TPS) which is processed using conventional technologies, but suffers from low mechanical properties and high hydrophilicity. Addition of... 

In the most cosmological models which already have putted forth, metric has a spherical symmetry; however, according to the galaxy’s shape is not a real approximation. In order to build a more acqurate model, by applying a particular conformal transformation on the static vacuum solution, we introduce a new metric which is axially symmetric and also it approaches to FLRW metric at space infinity. The cosmological model according to this metric has especial features;The solution we have found represent a spacetime which is axially symmetric although it leads to a spherically symmetric Einstein tensor. Therefore, we have found a solution of Einstein equations representing a spherically... 

This project aimed to fabricate the bone scaffolds with applying thermoplastic starch-based nano-biocomposites. The starting materials for this scaffold are as follows: thermoplastic starch, ethylene vinyl alcohol as the polymer matrix and nanoforsterite as the ceramic reinforcing phase. Furthermore, vitamin E was used as antioxidant for preserving starch against thermo-mechanical degradations. Likewise, 3D pore structure was developed using azo-dicarbonamide and water in injection moulding process. With blending thermoplastic starch and ethylene vinyl alcohol, some thermoplastic starch’s properties including degradation rate and water absorption were modified. In addition, having... 

Epoxy resins are relatively brittle and have low resistance to crack propagation. It is common to add rubber particles to improve crack resistance in epoxies, although these particles may deteriorate the strength of the matrix. Different nanomaterials are used to overcome the inherent brittleness of epoxies and to keep the mechanical properties. Among them, carbon nanotubes has been attracted many attentions. Fractue behavior and mechanical properties of two kind of novel nanocomposites, i.e, epoxy/carbon nanotube and epoxy/rubber/carbon nanotube are investigated in current study. Electron microscopy investigations were done to assure the CNTs distribution and fracture mechanisms as well.... 

Blend of Polycarbonate/ poly(butylene terephthalate) is among the most famous blends of polycarbonate/polyester with vast engineering applications and unique properties. Miscibility and compatibilization of this blend are important as they directly influence the general properties.Transesterification which occurs in the melt state, is a series of cutting and rejoining of dissimilar polymer chains. The reaction ruins the order of pure chains and forms block copolymers of different natures. Further progress in transesterification lead into a completely random copolymer of initial chains. Time, temperature and addition of catalyst can effectively influence transesterification.In this study,... 

Polypropylene block copolymer is used in different industries like pipe productions. This copolymer has proper mechanical properties, specially it has good impact strength, but in some applications it’s elastic modulus (stiffness) is not enough and that leads to some problemes in servise. Nucleating agents influence crystalline structure and properties and also the mechanical properties by controlling the crystallization process. Nanoparticles also have a beneficial effects on physical and mechanical properties. In this study, the effect of adding two types of α-phase nucleating agents (commercial names NA11 and DMDBS) in the form of masterbatch wt 5% with a carrier of polypropylene block... 

Polypropylene (PP) is one of the most widely used commercial plastics in various industrial applications due to its desirable physical and mechanical properties and low cost. Engineering properties of this polymer depend very much on its crystalline structure. It is a common practice in polymer industry to modify crystalline structure by means of nucleating agents. Since nucleating agents are added in a rather low level to polymers, some investigators have tried this task in modifying crystalline structure of polypropylene by incorporating nucleating agent masterbatches. However, none have looked at the possible influence of the carrier resin in such masterbatches on the performance of... 

Polyamide 6 is one of the well-known and oldest engineering thermoplastics, which has many uses in the transportation, automotive, apparel and sports industries due to its high strength, high corrosion resistance and high service temperatures. Cite gears, radiator tank, cylinder head cap and fuel rails can be mentioned as Polyamide 6 applications in the automotive industry. Glass fibers are used as reinforcement in PA6 media in order to enhance mechanical properties like tensile and impact strength. Even though the glass fiber improves the mechanical properties of the components produced from fiber-reinforced composites, it increases the anisotropy properties of the material and making it... 

Polyamide-6 is a thermoplastic polymer that is classified as electrically non-conductive materials. One way of adding conductivity to the polymer matrices is by utilizing them in a nanocomposite form. Superior mechanical and electrical properties of Carbon Nanotubes make them worthy of being chosen as reinforcement in nanocomposites to extend their operation to a broader range of applications, like conductive nanocomposites, mainly polymer-based matrices. The Nanotubes have chemical affinity and tend to entangle and aggregate. Because of this, to achieve a uniform and remarkable electrical conductivity is hard-to-reach. state of entanglement effects correctly melt methods of polymer blend... 

The consumption of plastics in the world is increasing and this is accompanied by the challenges of production from oil products and carbon footprint, waste production and environmental issues. The solutions to these challenges are material recycling and the production of biocompatible plastics. Polypropylene is a widely used polymer that is commonly used in conjunction with reinforcements such as fiberglass. Natural fibers can be substituted to increase the biocompatibility of the composite, which, despite its many advantages, presents challenges. The most important challenge is the poor adhesion of the fibers and the matrix due to the hydrophilicity of natural fibers and hydrophobicity of... 

In this study, the synthesis conditions of polyaniline were optimized in order to produce a blend based on polypropylene (PP) containing polyaniline (PANI) with the electrical conductivity in the antistatic range. A form of PANI that has adequate electrical conductivity and thermal stability, which is suitable for melt-mixing and melt-spinning conditions, was synthesized. Thermal stability and electrical conductivity of polyaniline were investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential calorimetric analysis (DSC) and high-temperature electrical conductivity. It was found that the synthesized PANI has required thermal stability and electrical conductivity (106 ohm.cm) at the... 

In this research, a nanocomposite blend of polyamide 6/polystyrene containing polyaniline-coated carbon nanotubes was fabricated via melt blending method, aiming to achieve electrical conductivity in the range of static dissipation. The effect of weight percentage of nanofillers and surface modification of carbon nanotubes with polyaniline on the electrical properties and microstructure of the nanocomposite was investigated. To promote compatibility between the immiscible polyamide 6 and polystyrene polymers, PS-g-MA compatibilizer was utilized, and its effect on the morphology of the nanocomposite blend was examined. Additionally, the influence of weight percentage of nanofillers and the... 

One drawback of polypropylene (PP) as a widely-used semicrystalline thermoplastic is its low toughness at sub-zero temperatures. Along with adding elastomers to PP as impact modifiers, modification of PP’s crystalline structure by means of beta-phase nucleating agents —beta being the toughest polymorph of PP —is a standard method of improving PP’s toughness. Nucleation efficiency is highly dependent on the optimum dispersion of the nucleating agent. Therefore, improving the dispersion of the nucleating agents assumes an essential role. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of the incorporation method of calcium pimelate (CaPi), a highly-selective beta nucleating agent, on... 

Compared to block copolymer, random copolymer polypropylene (PPR) has lower toughness and impact resistance, and this defect creates limitations in the use of this polymer in some applications, including in the pipe industry. Creating a beta crystal structure in random polypropylene with the help of nucleating agent is a well-known method to solve this weakness. Following the previous activities in this group, the current research was defined based on the construction of beta nucleator based on calcium pimalat and its use in pipe-grade random polypropylene. Four methods were used to add germinating agent to polymer in this research. Synthesis of germinating agent and then adding it to the... 

The use of polymers is increasing day by day due to low density, reasonable price and ability to produce different products. On the other hand, the accumulation of polymer wastes in nature is one of the environmental concerns in today's world, which is mainly due to the widespread use of polymers in the packaging industry and disposable applications. In order to solve this problem, recycling is recommended as the most appropriate and economical solution. Because in addition to consuming polymer waste, it also saves energy and reduces carbon footprint.Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is one of the polymeric materials which; It has a special place in the packaging industry and is widely used... 

The improved properties of nanocomposites are not achievable with conventional composites. Scale effect is one the most important parameters in the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric nanocomposites. One of the physical phenomena, which can be related to the scale effect, is the very large interface between the nanoparticles and the polymeric matrices. Motional behavior and conformation of polymeric chains change near the nanoparticles surfaces. Due to high interface of the nanoparticles with the polymeric matrices the amount of these types of changes in the polymeric chains are so large that can change the physical and mechanical properties of polymeric nanocomposites. In this... 

Polypropylene is a commodity thermoplastic with good physical and mechanical properties along with fair recyclability and cost. However, the application of polypropylene is limited in some cases, especially in automotive industry, as a result of inappropriate toughness of this material. Although rubber toughening of polypropylene is a method used to increase the toughness, it reduces scratch resistance. Studies performed in the polymer group of this department reveal that the cavitation resistance of elastomeric phase and its bonding to the matrix are two effective parameters in scratch resistance of this material. In this study, it is tried to alter the cavitation resistance of elastomeric... 

Melt blending of polymers is a rather cheap and easy approach for obtaining new set of properties compared to synthesizing new polymeric materials. For the same reason, binary and ternary polyethylene blends are made to provide added value for different applications. Polyethylene blends are commonly composed of high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE). Although the Mechanical and physical properties of polyethylene binary blends have been studied extensively, microstructure and mechanical properties of polyethylene ternary blends have been the subject of very few studies. In this work, samples with 40-60 Wt. % HDPE and... 

Blending different polymers to achieve a compound with modified Physical physical and mechanical properties, has interested researchers for years. Among all, LDPE and HDPE have attracted a great attention for this purpose; specially when a mineral filler like clay is another part of composite. In the related literature, it is proven that small amounts of clay can improve physical and mechanical properties in comparison to virgin blend. Focus of this research is on HDPE/EVA/Clay nanocomposite and its physical and mechanical properties. Having vinyl group, EVA is a compatibilizer that makes clay to disperse better; EVA can also makes the brittle HDPE tougher. At first, HDPE/EVA blend...