STUDIES ON DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR AND FLOW PROPERTIES OF HDPE EPDM BLENDS BY TORQUE RHEOMETER

The effect of blend ratio on the crosslinking characteristics and dynamic elastic properties of HDPE/EPDM blends was studied by a torque rheometer. The crosslink density (a measure of tensile strength) first increases and then decreases with increase in EPDM content. The dynamic elastic property (a measure of impact strength) also showed a peculiar trend. Both studies showed that less than 40 parts loading of EPDM gave the best mechanical properties. In another study the flow activation energy was calculated by temperature programming, which gave the value of processing temperatures (cold mixing, hot mixing).