Conventional and Microcellular Injection Molding of a Highly Filled Polycarbonate Composite with Glass Fibers and Carbon Black

Galip Yilmaz, Apichart Devahastin, Lih Sheng Turng*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Conventional solid injection molding (CIM) and microcellular injection molding (MIM) of a highly filled polycarbonate (PC) composite with glass fibers and carbon black were performed for molding ASTM tensile test bars and a box-shape part with variable wall thickness. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to examine the microstructure at the fractured surface of the tensile test bar samples. The fine and uniform cellular structure suggests that the PC composite is a suitable material for foaming applications. Standard tensile tests showed that, while the ultimate strength and elongation at break were lower for the foamed test bars at 4.0–11.4% weight reduction, their specific Young’s modulus was comparable to that of their solid counterparts. A melt flow and transition model was proposed to explain the unique, irregular “tiger-stripes” exhibited on the surface of solid test bars. Increasing the supercritical fluid (SCF) dosage and weight reduction of foamed samples resulted in swirl marks on the part surface, making the tiger-stripes less noticeable. Finally, it was found that an injection pressure reduction of 25.8% could be achieved with MIM for molding a complex box-shaped part in a consistent and reliable fashion.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1193
JournalPolymers
Volume14
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 01 03 2022
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • flow marks
  • microcellular injection molding
  • polycarbonate composite
  • tiger stripes

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