Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser – Synthetic resins – At least one aryl ring which is part of a fused or bridged...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-12
2002-03-26
Cain, Edward J. (Department: 1714)
Synthetic resins or natural rubbers -- part of the class 520 ser
Synthetic resins
At least one aryl ring which is part of a fused or bridged...
C524S528000, C525S216000, C525S240000, C525S241000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06362270
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to compositions comprising thermoplastic polymers which are suitable for fabrication into products useful for durable goods applications by processes such as rotational molding, injection molding, blow molding, calendaring, pulltrusion, cast film, and blown film. The products made according to this invention are either flexible or rigid and are suitable for applications such as: lawn & garden equipment, building & construction materials, furniture, medical goods, sporting good, toys, storage tanks, boats, kayaks, canoes, sailboats, crash barriers and the like.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One of the key fabrication methods covered herein is rotational molding (also known as rotomolding), which is used to manufacture hollow objects from thermoplastics. In the basic process of rotational molding, pulverized polymer is placed in a mold. While the mold is being rotated, the mold is heated and then cooled. The mold can be rotated uniaxially or biaxially and is usually rotated biaxially, i.e., rotated about two perpendicular axes simultaneously. The mold is typically heated externally and then cooled while being rotated. As such, rotomolding is a zero shear process and involves the tumbling, heating and melting of thermoplastic powder, followed by coalescence, fusion or sintering and cooling. In this manner, articles may be obtained which are complicated, large in size, and uniform in wall thickness.
Many compositions have been employed in rotational molding. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,257 teaches rotational molding compositions comprising polyethylene, peroxide cross-linker, and a metal cationic compound while U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,318 teaches crosslinked compositions comprising ethylene terpolymer and organic peroxide.
It would be desirable to discover new rotational molding compositions, which exhibit improved processability and/or improved properties achievable without necessarily having to crosslink the composition. Improved processability refers to reduced viscosity or melt elasticity at zero or low shear rates, which in turn results in shorter cycle times, faster sintering, and/or the ability to fabricate articles over wide ranges of processing temperatures. Some of the key properties of rotational molding compositions include impact strength at low or room temperature, and environmental stress crack resistance (ESCR).
Another key process for fabricating durable goods is injection molding. The processability of an injection molding resin is related to its capability to fill the mold easily and without large pressure increase. Processability can be determined by measuring the viscosity/shear rate curve, using a rheometer. The slope of the viscosity curve provides information about the mechanical/rheological property balance. A polymer having a broad molecular weight distribution exhibits more shear thinning and therefore a relatively low viscosity (good processability) at the high shear rates (100-1000 s
−1
), which are typical of injection molding.
In one aspect of the invention, thermoplastic compositions have been discovered which are especially suitable for rotational and injection molding and have improved physical and/or mechanical properties. The compositions comprise one or more polymers and an impact additive. In many cases, processability is also improved during rotational molding, as reflected in, for example, shorter cycle times, faster sintering, and/or the ability to fabricate articles over wide ranges of processing temperatures. Advantageously, the compositions often exhibit one or more of the following: improved low temperature and/or room temperature impact, improved environmental stress crack resistance, and acceptable flexural and secant modulus.
In the case of rotational molding, the final density and melt index of the compositions is typically a compromise between processability and end-product properties. Conventional knowledge teaches that increasing polymer density (or modulus) results in decreasing impact, and increasing melt index (or decreasing molecular weight) results in increased processability and corresponding decreases in ESCR and impact. Furthermore, increased branching has been known to result in inferior processability. As a result, one typically must choose which property to increase with the expectation that the other property must be decreased. In contrast, the compositions of the present invention unexpectedly show that processability in rotational molding is improved even when the zero or low shear viscosity or branching is increased, and impact strength is improved without necessarily decreasing the polymer density.
The compositions of the present invention with improved impact properties can also be utilized in other fabrication processes including, but not limited to blow molding, calendaring, pulltrusion, cast film, and blown film.
In another aspect of the present invention, thermoplastic compositions have been discovered which are specifically suitable for rotational molding and have acceptable physical and mechanical properties, but exhibit improved processability. The compositions comprise one or more thermoplastic polymers and a small amount of a low molecular weight processing additive that is preferably not volatile at the processing conditions. These compositions advantageously exhibit reduced melt viscosity or elasticity at zero or low shear rates. This results in shorter cycle times, faster sintering, and/or the ability to fabricate articles over wide ranges of processing temperatures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As used herein, “Izod impact strength” was measured according to ASTM test D-256 conducted at a particular temperature, “2% secant modulus” was measured according to ASTM test D-790, “flexural modulus” was measured according to ASTM test D-790, “heat distortion temperature” was measured according to ASTM test D-648 (at 66 psi), “low shear viscosity” was measured at 0.1 s
−1
shear rate using a dynamic mechanical spectrometer, “melt index” was measured according to ASTM test D-1238 (190° C., 2.16 kg load), “density” was measured according to ASTM D-792, and “Environmental Stress Crack Resistance” (ESCR-F50) was measured according to ASTM D-1524 using 10% Igepal solution.
The test methods used for measuring sintering times, conducting uniaxial or rotational molding experiments and measuring low temperature dart impact strength are described in the examples ahead.
Definitions
All references herein to elements or metals belonging to a certain Group refer to the Periodic Table of the Elements published and copyrighted by CRC Press, Inc., 1989. Also any reference to the Group or Groups shall be to the Group or Groups as reflected in this Periodic Table of the Elements using the IUPAC system for numbering groups.
Any numerical values recited herein include all values from the lower value to the upper value in increments of one unit provided that there is a separation of at least 2 units between any lower value and any higher value. As an example, if it is stated that the amount of a component or a value of a process variable such as, for example, temperature, pressure, time and the like is, for example, from 1 to 90, preferably from 20 to 80, more preferably from 30 to 70, it is intended that values such as 15 to 85, 22 to 68, 43 to 51, 30 to 32 etc. are expressly enumerated in this specification. For values which are less than one, one unit is considered to be 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01 or 0.1 as appropriate. These are only examples of what is specifically intended and all possible combinations of numerical values between the lowest value and the highest value enumerated are to be considered to be expressly stated in this application in a similar manner.
The term “hydrocarbyl” as employed herein means any aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic, aryl substituted aliphatic, aryl substituted cycloaliphatic, aliphatic substituted aromatic, or aliphatic substituted cycloaliphatic groups.
The term “hydrocarbyloxy” means a hydrocarbyl group having an oxyg
Chaudhary Bharat I.
Laubach Adam E.
Markovich Ronald P.
Nieto Jesus
Cain Edward J.
The Dow Chemical Company
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