Multivariate Modeling of Mechanical Properties for Hot Runner Molded Bioplastics and a Recycled Polypropylene Blend

David O. Kazmer, Davide Masato, Leonardo Piccolo, Kyle Puleo, Joshua Krantz, Varun Venoor, Austin Colon, Justin Limkaichong, Neil Dewar, Denis Babin and Cheryl Sayer
Additional contact information
David O. Kazmer: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Davide Masato: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Leonardo Piccolo: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Università Degli Studi Di Padova, 2-35122 Padova, Italy
Kyle Puleo: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Joshua Krantz: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Varun Venoor: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Austin Colon: Department of Plastics Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
Justin Limkaichong: Department of Materials Science, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 2JD, UK
Neil Dewar: Mold-Masters Ltd., Georgetown, ON L7G 4X5, Canada
Denis Babin: Mold-Masters Ltd., Georgetown, ON L7G 4X5, Canada
Cheryl Sayer: Mold-Masters Ltd., Georgetown, ON L7G 4X5, Canada

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: Four sustainable materials including a recycled polypropylene blend, polybutylene adipate terephthalate, and two grades of polylactic acid are compared to a reference isotactic polypropylene. Tensile specimens were produced using a two-cavity, hot runner mold with fully automatic cycles per standard industrial practices to investigate the effect of melt temperature, injection velocity, cycle time, and screw speed on the mechanical properties. Multiple regression and principal component analyses were performed for each of the materials. Results indicated that all the materials were readily processed using a hot runner, and the mechanical properties exhibited minimal variation. To the extent that losses in mechanical properties were observed, the results indicated that the losses were correlated with thermal degradation as independently characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis. Such losses can be minimized by reducing melt temperature and cycle time, leading to a reduction of the environmental impact of injection molding processes.

Keywords: bioplastics; multivariate analysis; injection molding; thermal degradation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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