Surface Defects of TPO Injected Foam Parts for Automotive Applications
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A. Santoni
Abstract
Benefits of reduced vehicle weight can have an important environmental impact since there is a 6 to 8% improvement in fuel efficiency for every 10% in weight reduction. In this work, foaming technology is used to produce injection molded TPO parts (thermoplastic olefin compounds) for the automotive industry with a minimum of 20% weight reduction while retaining a glossy surface quality. It was found by Guo et al. (2006, 2007) that the best strategy to raise the surface quality was to decrease the shot size, the cycling time and the temperature of the injected melt. However, the targeted objective of a minimum of 20% weight reduction was not achieved in these preliminary experiments. Therefore, in this work a blend of TPO and maleic anhydride modified polypropylene (PP-g-MA) was used in order to promote TPO foamability and improve the surface quality of injected parts. Under these conditions, we managed to produce injected molded TPO samples with a 24% weight reduction and good surface quality. Moreover, we investigated the effect of PP-g-MA in the TPO system by performing rheological measurements and photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared (PA-FTIR) analysis to characterize the PP-g-MA physico-chemical interactions with TPO.
Acknowledgements
This project has been funded by a grant of NSERC-Center of Excellence Network “The Automobile of the 21st Century”, for which we are most grateful. The authors also wish to thank Decoma for supplying the TPO.
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© 2007 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston, Germany
Artikel in diesem Heft
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- Functionalization of Low Density Polyethylene with Ricinol-2-oxazoline Methyl Maleate in a Twin-screw Extruder
- Modelling of Phase Transitions and Residual Thermal Stress of CTBN Rubber Modified Epoxy Resins during a Pultrusion Process
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- Rheological Behavior of HEUR Mixtures in Aqueous Media
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- Development of a Novel Transcription Molding Process to Fabricate Sophisticated Polymer Products with Precise Microstructure and High Transparency Applicable to Display Devices and Bio-chips
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- Analysis of Film Blowing with Flow-enhanced Crystallization
- A Composite Model for Melting, Pressure and Fill Factor Profiles in a Metered Fed Closely Intermeshing Counter-rotating Twin Screw Extruder
- Surface Defects of TPO Injected Foam Parts for Automotive Applications
- PPS News
- PPS News
- Seikei-Kakou Abstracts
- Seikei-Kakou Abstracts
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Contents
- Regular Contributed Articles
- Functionalization of Low Density Polyethylene with Ricinol-2-oxazoline Methyl Maleate in a Twin-screw Extruder
- Modelling of Phase Transitions and Residual Thermal Stress of CTBN Rubber Modified Epoxy Resins during a Pultrusion Process
- Real-time Diagnosis of Micro Powder Injection Molding Using Integrated Ultrasonic Sensors
- Rheological Behavior of HEUR Mixtures in Aqueous Media
- Spinnability and Dyeability for Copolymer/Nano-SiO2 Fiber of Glycol and 1,2-Propanediol with PTA
- Development of a Novel Transcription Molding Process to Fabricate Sophisticated Polymer Products with Precise Microstructure and High Transparency Applicable to Display Devices and Bio-chips
- Effect of Aspect Ratio of Whisker on the Fibrillation of Liquid Crystalline Polymer in Polysulfone Matrix
- Gas Assisted Injection Molding of an Industrial Part: 3D Simulation Provides Virtual Molding Trials
- Analysis of Film Blowing with Flow-enhanced Crystallization
- Analysis of Film Blowing with Flow-enhanced Crystallization
- A Composite Model for Melting, Pressure and Fill Factor Profiles in a Metered Fed Closely Intermeshing Counter-rotating Twin Screw Extruder
- Surface Defects of TPO Injected Foam Parts for Automotive Applications
- PPS News
- PPS News
- Seikei-Kakou Abstracts
- Seikei-Kakou Abstracts