Polymer composites

Processing properties and long term stability of neat polymers can be improved by compounding additives such as heat and light stabilizers, antioxidants and processing aids. Often these functional additives are molecularly dispersed in the polymer matrix.

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Fillers such as calcium carbonate and clay are compounded into polymers to cheapen the product, but in some cases also to enhance properties such as stiffness.  

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Mechanical properties of polymers such as stiffness, strength, toughness and impact resistance can be seriously enhanced with fibres, mainly glass or carbon. Such fibre-reinforced polymer compositions are frequently called composites.

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Carbon nanotubes (single or multi-walled) and graphene in polymers serve various aims: enhanced stiffness, shielding and electric or thermal conduction.

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In all above polymer compositions, formulation, distribution and dispersion are critical. Thus formulation development in up-scalable laboratory equipment with good dispersive and distributive mixing is a crucial asset in developing ever better polymer composites.

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In fibre-reinforced composites, the final fibre aspect ratio (length/diameter) and fibre-matrix interactions are extra factors that influence the mechanical properties.

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Xplore micro compounders are designed to help you in formulation development of compounds and composites. Distributive and dispersive mixing can be easily controlled by adjusting the screw speed, the barrel-screw gap and the mixing duration. Xplore has many mixing screw configurations available for many typical mixing dynamics, e.g. multi-wall carbon nanotubes.

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Xplore instruments increase your R&D data output because more compositions per day can be formulated and shaped into test samples with our post die instruments.

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The extreme abrasion resistance of barrel and screws of Xplore micro compounders guarantee you reproducible results over many years and the possibility to use Xplore rheological software and upscaling protocol for reliable upscaling to parallel twin-screw extruders.