• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.255-263
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• 1999

Blends of two thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers, HX2000 and Vectra A950, were prepared by melt blending. Effects of transesterification on these blends are investigated by comparing properties of the blends with and without the addition of an inhibitor, in terms of blend miscibility and rheology. Both the uninhibited and inhibited blends are found to be largely immiscible with very limited miscibility in HX2000-rich phase. No strong evidence indicates the occurrence of transesterification in the blends in the solid state. Dynamic rheological behaviour, such as shear storage modulus (G') and shear loss modulus (G") as a function of frequency, of the blends are interpreted by a three-zone model. HX2000 shows terminal-zone and plateau-zone behaviour, whilst Vectra A950 shows plateau-zone and transition-zone behaviour. The un- inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 50% Vectra A950 content and the inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 60% Vectra A950 content. Compositional dependence of the complex viscosities of the uninhibited and inhibited blends displayed positive deviations from additivity, which is a characteristic feature for the immiscible thermoplastic blends. When under steady shear, both the uninhibited and inhibited blends show shear thinning behaviour and their viscosities decrease monotonically with the addition of Vectra A950. Compositional dependence of the steady shear viscosities of the two sets of blends displayed negative deviations from additivity and the uninhibited blends were more viscous than the inhibited blends for the full composition range. Although limited agreement with the Cox-Merz rule is found for the inhibited blends, these two sets of blends, in general, do not follow the rule due to their liquid crystalline order and two-phase morphology. Despite being immiscible blends, transesterification, such as polymerization, in the blends might occur during the rheological characterization, supported by the facts that uninhibited blends show HX2000-dominant behaviour at lower Vectra A950 content and are more viscous than the inhibited blends. The addition of transesterification inhibitor in such blends is advised if only physical mixing is desired.ired.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.303-310
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• 2003

The phase behavior of binary blends of dimethylpolycarbonate-tetramethyl polycarbonate (DMPCTMPC) copolycarbonates and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers has been examined and then compared with that of DMPC/TMPC/SAN ternary blends having the same chemical components and compositions except that the DMPC and TMPC were present in the form of homopolymers. Both binary and ternary blends were miscible at certain blends compositions, and the miscible blends showed the LCST-type phase behavior or did not phase separated until thermal degradation temperature. The miscible region of binary blends is wider than that of the corresponding ternary blends. Furthermore, the phase-separation temperatures of miscible binary blends are higher than those of miscible ternary blends at the same chemical compositions. To explain the destabilization of polymer mixture with the increase of the number of component, interaction energies of binary pairs involved in these blends were calculated from the phase separation temperatures using lattice-fluid theory and then the phase stability conditions for the polymer mixture was analyzed with volume fluctuation thermodynamics.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.520-526
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• 2007

The effects of poly($({\varepsilon}$-caprolactone) (PCL) on poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) blends were studied. Blends of ABS/PC (70/30, wt%) with PCL as a compatibilizer were prepared by a twin screw extruder. From the glass transition temperature $(T_g)$ results of the ABS/PC blends with PCL, the $T_g$(PC) of the ABS/PC (70/30) blends decreased with increasing PCL content. From the results of the morphology of the ABS/PC (70/30) blends with PCL, the phase separation between the ABS and PC phases became less significant after adding PCL in the ABS/PC blends. In addition, the morphological studies of the ABS/PC blends etched by NaOH indicated that the shape of the droplet was changed from regular round to irregular round by adding PCL in the ABS/PC blends. These results for the mechanical properties of the ABS/PC blends with PCL indicated that the tensile, flexural and impact strengths of the ABS/PC (70/30) blends peaked at a PCL content of 0.5 phr. From the results for the rheological properties of the ABS/PC (70/30) blends with PCL content, the storage modulus, loss modulus and complex viscosity increased at PCL content up to 5 phr. From the above results of the $T_g$, mechanical properties, morphology and complex viscosity of the ABS/PC blends with PCL, it was concluded that the compatibility was increased with PCL addition in the ABS/PC (70/30, wt%) blends and that the optimum concentration of PCL as a compatibilizer is 0.5 phr.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.18-26
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• 2002

Films of methylcellulose(MC), chitosan and their blends were prepared using water and acid solution as a solvent. The transition behavior and miscibility of polymers and their blends were characterized by dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA). The DMA analysis of PEG400/MC blends has shown that PEG400 was compatible with MC and was effective plasticizer since the curves of $tan{\delta}$ against temperature exhibited single peak, corresponding to single glass transition temperature, which were displaced to lower values with increasing PEG400 content. Results of DMA analysis and TGA analysis of MC/chitosan blends indicate that there are some miscibility between MC and chitosan in the blends, attributed to the similarities between two polysaccharides and interactions of two polymers in the blends. The inclusion of PEG400 in the blends increase the miscibility between two components in the blends.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.121-128
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• 2018

This paper describes the non-isothermal pyrolysis of cashew shell cake (CSC) - bituminous coal blends. The blends exhibit two distinct stages in the thermogravimetric curves, which the first stage stems from CSC and the second one from the superposition of CSC and coal pyrolysis. The pyrolysis behavior of the blend was linearly proportional to the blending ratios. The overall behavior of the blends was evaluated in terms of the maximum rate of weight loss, characteristic temperatures, char yields, and the calculated and experimental thermogravimetric curves. The activation energies ranged up to 49 kJ/mol for the blends were obtained and used to evaluate the interaction in the blends. The present thermogravimetric study shows that there is no significant interaction between CSC and coal in the blends, and it was supported by the characteristic values which are linearly proportional to the weight percentages of cashew cake-shell in the blends. The no-interaction might be due to the fact that the main reaction zones are distinctively different for two constituents, so the additive rule is acceptable for describing pyrolysis behavior of the present blends.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2005

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) and their alloys are an important class of engineering thermoplastics that are widely used for automotive industry, computer and equipment housings. For the process of recycling mixtures of ABS and PC, it is desirable to know how sensitive the blend properties are to changes in compositions. It was for this reason that blends of virgin ABS and virgin PC at five different compositions, namely, $15\%,\;30\%,\;50\%,\;70%$ and $85\%$ by weight of ABS were prepared and characterised by rheological and mechanical measurements. Rheological properties of these blends in steady, oscillatory and transient step shear and mechanical properties, namely, tensile strength, elongation-at-break and Izod impact strength are reported. The results show that PC behaves in a relatively Newtonian manner, but ABS exhibits significant shear thinning. The ABS-rich blends show a trend that is similar to that of ABS, while PC-rich blends, namely $0\%$ and $15\%$, exhibit a nearly Newtonian behaviour. However, at a fixed shear rate or frequency, the steady shear or the dynamic viscosity varied respectively in a non-mono-tonic manner with composition. Except for $15\%$ blend, the viscosities of other blends fall into a narrow band indicating a wide-operation window of varying blend ratio. The blends exhibited a lower viscosity than either of the two pure components. The other noticeable feature was that the blends at $70\%$ and $85\%$ ABS content had a higher G' than pure ABS, indicating an enhancement of elastic effect. The tensile yield strength of the blends followed the 'rule of mixtures' showing a decreasing value with the increase of ABS content in PC. However, the elongation-at-break and the impact strength did not appear to obey this 'rule of mixtures,' which suggests that morphology of the blends also plays a significant role in determining the properties. Indeed, scanning electron micrographs of the fracture surfaces of the different blends validate this hypothesis, and the $15\%$ blend is seen to have the most distinct morphology and correspondingly different behaviour and properties.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.169-177
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• 2001

Morphological, thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of reactive compatabilized blends of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) and Polyamide-6 (PA) containing EGMA copolymer were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), advanced rheometric expansion system (ARES), and universal testing machine (UTM). From the results of thermal analysis by DSC, the melting point of the 30/70 PBT-PA blend was broadened after EGMA was added in the blends, since the enthalpy of melting of the PBT-PA somewhat decreased with the increase of EGMA content. From this result, it is suggested that the EGMA affected to the crystallization behavior and crystallinity of the PBT-PA blends. From SEM micrographs of the 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70 PBT-PA blends, the droplet size of the 30/70 PBT-PA blend was about 0.8 ${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ which was smaller than that of the 50/50 and 70/30 PBT-PA blends. The complex viscosity of the 30/70 PBT-PA blend observed to be higher than that of the 50/50 and 70/30 PBT-PA blends. From the results of the morphology and rheological properties for the PBT-PA blends, it is suggested that the compatibility is increased in the 30/70 PBT-PA blend than the 50/50 and 70/30 PBT-PA blends. From the results of mechanical properties, it was found that the tensile strength of the 30/70 PBT-PA blend increased with the increase of EGMA up to 2 phr, while tensile strength of the blend in which EGMA content was higher than 2 phr decreased with the increase of EGMA content. From the results of morphological, thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties for the PBT-PA-EGMA blends, it is suggested that the EGMA could be used as a compatibilization role in the blends.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.114-119
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• 2005

We investigated compatibilizing effects of electrical properties such as charge distributions and electrical breakdown in blends of low density polyethylene (LDPE) / polystyrene (PS) with poly [styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] (SEBS), the triblock copolymer. The blends with $70\;wt\%$ of LDPE and $30\;wt\%$ of PS were prepared through a melt blending in a batch type kneader at a temperature of $220^{\circ}C$ when the SEBS content increased up to $10\;wt\%$. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was investigated for observation of morphology of LDPE / PS blends increasing SEBS contents. The morphological observation showed that addition of SEBS results in the domain size reduction of the dispersed PS phase and a better interfacial adhesion between LDPE and PS phases. Measurements of space charge distributions for blends was carried out with pulsed electroacoustic (PEA) method. It was possible to observe that the amount of charge storage in the LDPE / PS blends decreased wiか increasing of SEBS content. The location of SEBS at a domain interface enables charges to move from one phase to the other via domain interface and results in a indicative decrease in the amount of space charge for the LDPE / PS blends with SEBS. Electrical breakdown strength of these blends was observed. It was found that the maximum breakdown strength of the blend was 51.55 kV/mm. These results were better than 38.38 kV/mm of LDPE used electrical insulator for cables and were caused by crystalinity of blends. Because the crystalinity of blends were lower than LDPE, electrical breakdown strength of LDPE / PS blends is higher than that of LDPE. We evaluated the possibility of these blends for insulating material substituted LDPE.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.149-156
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• 2018

This paper investigated the influence of binary and ternary blends of mineral admixtures in self-compacted mortar (SCM) on the fresh, mechanical and durability properties. For this purpose, 25 mortar mixtures were prepared having a total binder content of $640kg/cm^3$ and water/binder ratio between 0.41 and 0.50. All the mixtures consisted of Portland cement (PC), fly ash (FA) and silica fume (SF) as binary and ternary blends and air-entrained admixture wasn't used while control mixture contained only PC. The compressive and tensile strength tests were conducted for 28 and 91 days as well as slump-flow and V-funnel time tests whilst freeze-thaw (F-T) resistance and capillary water absorption tests were made for 91-day. Finally, in general, the use of SF with FA as ternary blends improved the tensile strength of mortars at 28- and 91-day while the use of SF15 with FA increased the compressive strength of the mortars compared to binary blends of FA. SCM mixtures with ternary blends had lower the sorptivity values than that of the mortars with binary blends of FA and the control mixture due to the beneficial properties of SF while the use of FA with SF as ternary blends induced the F-T resistance enhancement.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.20-26
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• 2003

The thermal behavior, morphology, ester-interchange reaction of Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) melt blends were investigated over the whole composition range(xPTT/(1-x)PET) using a twinscrew Brabender. The melt blends were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ($^{13}{C-NMR}$), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Single glass transition temperature ($T_g$) and cold crystallization temperature ($T_cc$) were observed in all melt blends. Melt blends were found to be due to the ester-interchange reaction in PTT/PET blend. Also the randomness of copolymer increases because transesterification between PT and PET increases with increasing blending time This reaction increases homogeneity of the blends and decreases the degree of crystallinity of the melt blends. In PTT-rich blends, mechanical properties decrease with increase of PET content compared with that of pure PTT. And, in PET-rich blends, tensile modulus decreases with increase of PTT content, but tensile strength and elongation is similar to that of pure PET.