Increased flow property of polycarbonate by adding hollow glass beads

The steady shear viscosity and dynamic viscoelastic properties of glass beads (GB) filled polycarbonate (PC) melts were studied at varying filler diameters and concentrations. The PC/GB composites containing small amounts of GB bore lower melt viscosity and dynamic modulus than those of pure PC at studied frequencies and shear rates, showing a "ball-bearings" effect. For highly filled systems, the viscosity and dynamic modulus were decreased further at higher frequencies and shear rates. This ball-bearings effect was enhanced by changing the GB from larger to smaller one. The oscillatory experiments with modified shear stress showed a stress-dependent decrease of the viscoelastic properties, and revealed an interfacial slip mechanism, combined with the polymer chains disentanglement at melt/solid interfaces. The scaling relationship between the relative viscosity and the mean interparticle gap confirmed that the interfacial slip and polymer chains disentanglement were induced by the extremely high local shear developed in the narrow gaps between the nearby rotating spheres.