Journal of Materials Science, Vol.31, No.9, 2487-2493, 1996
The Influence of Molecular-Weight and Mold Temperature on the Skin-Core Morphology in Injection-Molded Polypropylene Parts Containing Weld Lines
The sandwich structure of injection-moulded polypropylene parts with and without weld lines has been investigated using optical microscopy, X-ray scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry. It was found that the skin-layer thickness is strongly dependent on whether the mould is injected through one gate or through two gates. Samples containing a weld line show a much lower skin-layer thickness than samples without a weld line. This difference, however, depends strongly on the molecular weight of the polypropylene. The skin-layer thickness also varies along the flow path and decreases with increasing mould temperature. While most of the polypropylene crystallizes in the crystallographic alpha-modification, in the textured skin layer, some beta-modification occurs. The beta-crystallinity depends on the molecular weight but disappears in the weld line. X-ray investigations exhibited a bimodal crystal orientation in the skin layer, one with the c-axis oriented parallel to the flow direction, the second one with the a*-axis oriented parallel to the flow direction. The core exhibited only a weak c-axis orientation. In the skin, the metastable alpha(1)-modification was found.
Keywords:ISOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE;MOLDED POLYPROPYLENE;ALPHA-FORM;MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES;CRYSTALLINE ORDER;MELTING BEHAVIOR;SPHERULITES;PLASTICS;SAMPLES