polymerguru

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share At times, the flow front in injection molding appears to chart its own course, making unexpected decisions.For instance, one would anticipate that the shorter and thicker side would fill the flange before moving on to fill the main pipe walls in this example. However, it's not uncommon to witness a counterintuitive scenario where a supposedly more challenging section fills faster, despite the expectation of higher pressure drop. Physics dictates that there must be a rationale behind such occurrences. Upon observing this phenomenon with RPVC, it became apparent that the significant extensional viscosity of the polymer played a crucial role. This viscosity demanded additional energy or pressure to navigate the 90° bend turn. Essentially, in situations where extensional viscosity is notable, it's easier for the flow to progress straight through a slightly narrower channel than to negotiate a sharp turn into a wider one. Traditional flow analysis softwar...

With the new plants, the company’s capacity for phosphoric acid will increase by 750 tonnes per day, while that of sulphuric acid will go up by 1,800 tonnes per day. Agrochemicals major Coromandel International announced that company’s Board of Directors has approved a proposal to set up new phosphoric acid and sulphuric acid plants at Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh with an investment of Rs 1,029 crore. The proposal was approved at the board meeting held on January 30, Coromandel International said in a stock exchange filing. With the new plants, the company’s capacity for phosphoric acid will increase by 750 tonne per day, while that of sulphuric acid will go up by 1,800 tonne per day. Currently, the company has a capacity of 1,550 tonne per day for phosphoric acid and 4,200 tonne per day for sulphuric acid. The funding for these ventures will be sourced through internal accruals and loans, with the primary objective of reducing the reliance on imports and transforming Kakinada into an in...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share “Nanostitches” enable lighter and tougher composite materials In research that may lead to next-generation airplanes and spacecraft, MIT engineers used carbon nanotubes to prevent cracking in multilayered composites. This schematic shows an engineered material with composite layers. Layers of carbon fibers (the long silver tubes) have microscopic forests of carbon nanotubes between them (the array of tiny brown objects). These tiny, densely packed fibers grip and hold the layers together, like ultrastrong Velcro, preventing the layers from peeling or shearing apart. To save on fuel and reduce aircraft emissions, engineers are looking to build lighter, stronger airplanes out of advanced composites. These engineered materials are made from high-performance fibers that are embedded in polymer sheets. The sheets can be stacked and pressed into one multilayered material and made into extremely lightweight and durable structures. But composite materials have one ...

It was an honor to share my experience on the TYPE 4 composite Cylinder manufacturing process during a workshop conducted at IIT Gandhinagar this week. I have shared the real challenges that most of the manufacturers are facing in the world market today such as Permeation, Stress corrosion cracking and Batch testing. My aim was to convey the practical difficulties and challenges while manufacturing polymeric liner and hybridization of fibers in the Hydrogen cylinder manufacturing process. Also share current Hydrogen Economy and Future trends in fuels,additives, polymers and carbon fibers respectively in my session.The attendees were from well known companies and different states in India.Had the privilege to interact with each one of them and exchanged our views on the composites industry in India. It was a memorable event and also FIRST OF ITS KIND OF a workshop on TYPE-4 COPV HYDROGEN CYLINDER MANUFACTURING event that was conducted openly in Ind...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share How to experimentally spot a differential shrinkage driven warpage problem ? If you are molding a relatively uniform thickness part and suffer from warpage, there is a nice trick to experimentally separate the contribution of differential shrinkage from other sources of problems (differential cooling, anisotropy). Just make parts that are roughly full (say, 99% full), with zero packing (no pressure, no time). By not packing, you avoid packing one area better than another (for instance overpacking the gate area vs. distant areas). As a result you have a lighter part, with sink marks all over and voids, but with essentially NO DIFFERENTIAL SHRINKAGE. If this "short shot" is flatter than your packed part, you have experimentally demonstrated a strong contribution from "uneven packing", i.e. differential shrinkage. source:Vito leo

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share The main difference between CPVC and PVC processing: The main difference between PVC and CPVC processing lies in thermal stability and viscosity.If you don’t apply moderate temperatures and heat to CPVC, it won’t melt, and its physical properties won’t perform well. Hydrochloric acid decomposes when exposed to high temperatures. Temperature Tolerant: Because of the change in composition, CPVC can withstand a broader range of temperatures. The ASTM standard enables PVC to be used in applications not going beyond 140 degrees F. Meanwhile, products made from CPVC such as pipe have a recommended max operating temperature of 200°F. CPVC operational temp can satisfactorily range from 200°F to 230°F, given proper conditions of pressure and chemical suitability.Because of this, many building codes stipulate that CPVC rather than PVC be used in hot water applications. Chemical Resistance: CPVC is known for its superior chemical resistance compared to PVC. CPVC is hig...

Today's KNOWLEDGE Share Features of Modified-Polyphenylene Ether (m-PPE) resin XYRON™ DG series and XP series When developing a demanding application part, the challenge is to handle materials with appropriate characteristics such as heat resistance, electrical properties, flame retardance, dimensional stability etc. Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin is a super engineering plastics with excellent heat resistance, low- Coefficient of Linear Thermal Expansion (CLTE), excellent chemical resistance,and flame retardance. PPS resin is expanding in applications in automotive,electronics,electrical parts,water supply and drainage applications. Polyphthalamide (PPA) resin is a super engineering plastics with excellent heat resistance comparing with aliphatic polyamides (PA, nylon), which has good chemical resistance, and strength. PPA resin is also expanding in applications in automobiles, electronics and electrical parts. Asahi Kasei’s m-PPE Resin XYRON™ PPS/PPE alloys DG Series and PPA/PP...

Mitsui Chemicals announces that it has decided to close the phenol plant at its Ichihara Works by no later than fiscal 2026. The Mitsui Chemicals Group’s Basic & Green Materials Business Sector includes the phenol business. They are aiming to redefine itself as a sustainable green chemicals business centered around competitive derivatives. Addressing Falling Demand & Oversupply in Phenol Market: The Group works toward an optimized production setup at their crackers line with demand. They will need to ensure that its derivatives are competitive. This need prompted the Group to begin restructuring its Basic & Green Materials Business Sector shortly after the 2008 global financial crisis. The Group is now further accelerating its efforts toward this end as part of a second phase of restructuring, which will include the newly announced plant closure. Mitsui Chemicals currently produces phenol at three locations - Ichihara in Chiba, Takaishi in Osaka and Shanghai i...