Introduction:

When a polymer is extruded through a standard die at a constant pressure and

temperature we can calculate the mass flow rate. The mass flow rate can also give a
value of the elevated temperature strength of a material as they are indirectly
proportional.
The melt flow rate is defined as the mass of a polymer in grams flowing in ten
minutes through a capillary of a specific diameter and length by an applied pressure
(Antonio Feteira). This essentially means that it is a measure of ease of flow of the
melt of a thermoplastic polymer which indirectly measure the molecular weight.
In this laboratory we aimed to measure and compare the melt flow rate of polymers
with different densities and see what effect this has.

Experimental:
After levelling the apparatus the die was inserted into the bore and the heater
remained constant at either 190oC for both densities of polyethylene or 230oC for
the sample of polypropylene. The polymer were measured to their required weight
and then placed into the apparatus where a load was applied. The load pressed
down against the now heated polymer which caused it to be extruded through the die
and out of the apparatus. Once the extrusion has begun the extruded polymer was
cut off at regular time intervals (15 seconds for the high density polyethylene, 30
seconds for the polypropylene and 10 seconds for the low density polyethylene) and
the samples were put aside to harden. The samples where again weighed and this
weight was recorded.

Results:

Discussion:
We can see that there is a relationship between the sample weight and the flow rate
in all three polymers. The trend shows that a lower sample weight causes a high
melt flow rate. The melt flow rate and molecular weight and indirectly proportional.
molar mass of p
Work out number of moles
work out molecular weight
see relationship
Compare with data:
the standard data for this experiment according to the data sheet provided in the lab
show melt flow rates for the polymers low density polyethylene, high density
polyethylene and polypropylene as 20.5 g/10min , 8.0 g/10min and 17 g/10min. The
averages of the data we obtained in the same order give the result of 19.182
g/10min, 8.12 g/10min and 21.82 g/10min. The values we achieved are similar to the
standard data which shows that the experiment was successful however there are
slight differences which indicate potential errors.
Potential errors:
Human error is always a likelihood in experiments like this and this particular
experiment contains several. The instructions for the laboratory state that the
polymer resin must be inserted into the machine in under a minute to create and
even flow, however due to the absence of a funnel this was not an easy take and
may have altered the results. Another human error occurred during the extrusion.
The cut off time interval for polypropylene is 30 seconds, although due to human
error the time interval between cut offs was double this at 60 seconds. As a result
only three sample weights were recorded. This error was only noticed after the
experiment had taken place and therefore to solve the problem the values for sample
weights and flow rates for this polymer were halved to create 6 values hence why
some value in the table seem repeated.
Another potential error came from the apparatus itself. For some of the extruded
polymers the flow was disrupted when some of the resin collected on the side of the
exit causing some of the flow to stick to it meaning that some of the cut off samples
may have been underweight