Influence of mixing cycle on the degree of mixing of calcite-filled polyethylene upon stretching

The mixing cycle-dependent degree of dispersion and degree of mixing of a calcite (calcium carbonate) agglomerate in high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) matrices upon stretching was investigated using three different techniques: mechanical property, morphological behavior, and image analyzer analyses. The mechanical properties analyzed in terms of the tensile strength and maximum elongation resulted in that the second mixing was the best for giving a better property for all systems except the LDPE system, which exhibited no significant difference between the second and third mixings. The morphological behavior of the three compounds were different, but no distinctive difference was observed to differentiate the degree of mixing from system to system. The number-, weight-, and z + 1-average diameters of the air hole and the aspect ratio upon the stretching and mixing cycle were calculated to analyze the degree of mixing of the calcite-filled composites. As a consequence, no difference in the average diameter of the air hole was obtained among the three systems, but the aspect ratios of the air hole varied significantly. Thus, the degree of dispersion and the degree of mixing may be influenced by the average calcite agglomerate size, the average diameter of the air hole, and the aspect ratio upon stretching and mixing cycles. Those factors would be formed by the difference in chemical characteristics upon various microstructures of polyethylene and its molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.