TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of processing techniques on the microstructure and mechanical performance of high‐density polyethylene
AU - Mejia, Edgar
AU - Cherupurakal, Nizamudeen
AU - Mourad, Abdel Hamid I.
AU - Hassanieh, Sultan Al
AU - Rabia, Mohamed
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2021/10/1
Y1 - 2021/10/1
N2 - The versatility of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) makes it one of the most used polymers for vast applications ranging from food packaging to human implants. However, there still is confusion regarding the proper selection of processing techniques to produce HDPE specimens for high‐end applications. Herein, we compare the processing of HDPE by two relevant techniques: compression and injection molding. The fabricated samples were studied using uniaxial tensile testing to determine their mechanical performance. Furthermore, the microstructure of samples was analyzed using different characterization techniques. Compression‐molded specimens recorded a higher degree of crystallinity (DC) using two different characterization techniques such as differen-tial scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). With this information, critical processing factors were determined, and a general structure–property relationship was established. It was demonstrated that having a higher DC resulted in higher yield strength and Young’s modulus. Furthermore, premature failure was observed in the injection‐molded specimens, resulting in lower mechanical performance. This premature failure was caused due to flow marks observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Therefore, it is concluded that compression molding produces superior samples compared to injection molding.
AB - The versatility of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) makes it one of the most used polymers for vast applications ranging from food packaging to human implants. However, there still is confusion regarding the proper selection of processing techniques to produce HDPE specimens for high‐end applications. Herein, we compare the processing of HDPE by two relevant techniques: compression and injection molding. The fabricated samples were studied using uniaxial tensile testing to determine their mechanical performance. Furthermore, the microstructure of samples was analyzed using different characterization techniques. Compression‐molded specimens recorded a higher degree of crystallinity (DC) using two different characterization techniques such as differen-tial scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD). With this information, critical processing factors were determined, and a general structure–property relationship was established. It was demonstrated that having a higher DC resulted in higher yield strength and Young’s modulus. Furthermore, premature failure was observed in the injection‐molded specimens, resulting in lower mechanical performance. This premature failure was caused due to flow marks observed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Therefore, it is concluded that compression molding produces superior samples compared to injection molding.
KW - Compression molding
KW - High‐density polyethylene
KW - Injection molding
KW - Mechanical properties
KW - Microstructure
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U2 - 10.3390/polym13193346
DO - 10.3390/polym13193346
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85116366162
SN - 2073-4360
VL - 13
JO - Polymers
JF - Polymers
IS - 19
M1 - 3346
ER -