Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

www.elsevier.com/locate/polytest

Material Properties

Effects of processing parameters on the mechanical properties

of polypropylene random copolymer
Senol Sahin, Pasa Yayla*
Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Kocaeli University, 41040 Kocaeli, Turkey
Received 9 June 2005; accepted 19 July 2005

Abstract
The mechanical properties of polypropylene random copolymer (PP-R) with different processing parameters were studied.
Special attention is devoted to the investigation of the influence of masterbatch addition on the variation in the mechanical
properties of injection moulded PP-R. Tensile, instrumented Charpy impact, Shore D hardness, differential scanning
calorimeter (DSC) and Vicat softening temperature (VST) tests were conducted on the test samples containing different colour
masterbatches varying from 0.5 to 10 wt%. The observed changes in the mechanical behaviour are explained by the type and
level of masterbatch content. The natural UV weathering performance of the PP-R material was studied from the masterbatch
type point of view. The effect of processing parameters on material performance was studied on samples which were directly
obtained from extruded pipes and on injection moulded samples.
Finally, the effects of storage time on the polymer properties were investigated.
q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Polypropylene random copolymer; Processing parameters; Masterbatch types; Masterbatch contents; Ultraviolet degradation;
Storage time

1. Introduction
The use of plastic materials in pipe applications is well
established because of the lightweight, high performance,
and excellent corrosion performance they can offer
compared with metallic materials such as iron and copper.
Having achieved high level of penetration in different
applications, varying from water supply to gas distribution
networks, from sanitary and heating systems to waste water
collection and discharge systems, the use of plastics is
expected to continue growing steadily at a rate of about 5
10% per year [1].
In many applications it is necessary to pigment the resin
to specific colour for modifying the optical appearance for
* Corresponding author. Tel.: C90 262 335 1148; fax: C90 262
335 2812.
E-mail address: pyayla@kou.edu.tr (P. Yayla).

0142-9418/$ - see front matter q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.polymertesting.2005.07.010

design, styling and functional purposes. Because of the

importance of pigment addition to the base polymer, many
studies [2,3] have been undertaken to understand their
effects on the performance of plastics, especially since it has
been shown that incorporating additives into polymeric
materials during fabrication often affects rheological [4],
mechanical [5,6] and optical properties [7] in an unpredictable, and sometimes detrimental manner. PP can be
coloured by two different methods. In the first method,
certain types of colouring pigments are added to the natural
base polymer at a certain pre-defined percent by the
converters during either injection moulding or extrusion of
the final product. In the second method, the base polymer is
coloured by the raw material producer by compounding
during the production process. Since the second method
gives more uniform colouring, both the raw material
producers and, generally, the end-users prefer compounded
polymer. The polymer producers claim that the

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

1013

Table 1
Typical properties of masterbatches used in this study

Colour
Pigment type
Total pigment concentration
(%)
Melt flow index (gr/10 min)
(230 8C, 21.2 N)

M1

M2

M3

M4

White
Organic
60

Green
Organic/Inorganic
50

Blue
Organic/Inorganic
30

Black
Inorganic
40

17.9

34.1

! 0.01

6.0

development of coloured PP-R raw material has to be done

by the polymer producers due to the fact that specifically
designed compounding equipment is used to obtain proper
pigment and additive distribution without damaging the
molecular structure [8]. Furthermore, it is generally claimed
that coloration with masterbatches done by the converters
leads in general to poor pigment dispersion, resulting in
pigment agglomerates acting as defects in the polymer
matrix and impairing the mechanical properties of the
finished product. In fact, when a colour masterbatch is used
during the converting, the distribution level achieved in the
extruder is usually not acceptable, resulting in uneven
distribution [8]. Despite these disadvantages, colouring by
the polymer converter is cheaper and gives them some
additional logistic advantages. Moreover, it is fairly seldom
that a specific colorant is added to the reactants during a
polymerisation process, unless such polymer resin is
required in a large volume.
Polypropylene random copolymer (PP-R) is one of the
fastest growing of plastics being used in sanitary and heating
applications. The overall mechanical properties of PP are
strongly influenced by testing and processing parameters of
the polymer. Hence, knowledge of relations between
structure and mechanical properties of polymers enables
the manufacturers to produce materials with certain
morphologies by altering the processing conditions [9].
The influence of testing parameters on the overall
performance was discussed in Part 1 of this work [10].
Determining the effects of processing parameters on the
mechanical properties of PP-R is the objective of this study.
Special attention is devoted to the investigation of influence
of masterbatch addition on the variation in the mechanical
properties.
2. Experiments
2.1. Materials
The base polymer used in this study is a natural colour
polypropylene random copolymer (PP-R), produced by
Borealis S.A., trade name Borealis RA 130 E. The
properties of this natural PP-R are given in the work by
Sahin and Yayla [10].
It is known that colouring in general and the method
of colouring in particular, might have some influence on

the mechanical properties of the polymer [11]. In this

study, the effect of colouring methods on the overall
mechanical performance of PP-R is investigated. In
addition to the method of colouring, the types of pigment
used for colouring could influence the overall mechanical
performance of the material. In general, inorganic
pigments yield more stable and better mechanical
properties than organic pigments. Organic pigments,
however, are known for their high colour strength,
brightness and good transparency [12].
In order to determine the effects of different colouring on
material properties, four different colour masterbatches
were used. The masterbatches used to make the final product
in different colours were supplied by local masterbatch
manufacturers. They were supplied in granule form and the
carrier resin for pigments for the all types of masterbatches
was PP-R. The typical properties of masterbatches used in
this study are detailed in Table 1.
Four different coloured PP-R materials, compounded
during polymerisation by the above named producer, were
used to prepare test samples. From the producers point of
view, there is no significant difference in the typical
properties of these different colour compounds.
2.2. Specimen preparation
Four different groups of samples were prepared in this
investigation. For the first group, an un-compounded
natural material was coloured during the injection process.
For this group of samples, different types of masterbatches
at pre-defined ratios, varied between 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and
10% in weight, were added during the injection process of
the test samples. Before introducing the resin and
masterbatches into the injection moulding machine, the
masterbatch and the resin were put in a mixer and mixed
for about 30 min. For the second group, a compounded
PP-R material in blue, white, grey and green was used to
prepare test samples by injection moulding. For these two
groups, the detailed information on the injection mould
and injection parameters was given elsewhere [10]. For
the third and fourth groups, the test samples were directly
cut and extracted from the extruded pipe manufactured
from white colour compounded, and 1% white colour
masterbatch added materials, respectively. These third and

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S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

fourth groups of samples are coded as W1 and W2,

respectively.

3. Mechanical tests
Unless otherwise mentioned, all tensile tests were carried
out at a crosshead speed of 50 mm/min and, before testing,
all samples were conditioned at room temperature for a
period of 30 days. All the results are average of three tests.
The effects of processing parameters, masterbatch types and
content and natural UV weathering on the properties of
material were monitored using tensile, Charpy impact,
Shore D hardness, and DSC tests. The details on these three
tests were outlined elsewhere [10].
3.1. Microstructural analysis
As the addition of any types of additives may alter the
crystallisation characteristics of PP [13], a differential
scanning calorimeter (DSC) analysis was used to evaluate
thermal and morphological characteristics and the degree of
crystallinity in the moulded samples containing different
types of masterbatches at different concentrations. Tests
were carried out on a Rheometric Scientific Polymer
Laboratories instrument. Samples, each having a weight of
about 13 mg, were extracted from the middle sections of
injection moulded samples, shown in Fig. 1(c) of Sahin and
Yayla [10]. In the DSC tests, each sample was heated from
30 to 200 8C at a rate of 10 8C/min under a nitrogen
atmosphere. Both thermal and crystallisation parameters
were obtained from the heating scans.
The level of crystallinity was calculated with the Eq. (1).
cZ

DHsc
100
DHc

(1)

where DHsc is the melting enthalpy of the semi-crystalline

material to be studied, and DHc is the enthalpy of 100%
crystalline material. Since, a specific value of DHc for PP-R
0.3
Heat Flow [mcal /s]

0.0
0.3
0.6
0.9
1.2
1.5

Natural
1% White
White
W2
W1

1.8
20 35 50 65 80 95 110 125 140 155 170 185
Temperature [C]
Fig. 1. DSC thermal history of natural and coloured PP-R showing
remarkable influence of the method of colouring and the way the
sample is prepared.

does not exist, and the enthalpy of fusion for 100%

crystalline polypropylene is almost independent of the
isotacticity and equals 207 J/g [14], the value of DHc for PPR is taken as 207 J/g. The melting temperature was taken as
the peak temperature in the curves. The peak area,
calculated automatically by the DSC instrument, was
taken as the melting enthalpy.
Typical thermal histories of some PP-R samples are
given in Fig. 1. It is evident that there is an endothermic
melting peak in the heating scans. From the thermograms, it
could be deduced that the onset of melting temperature is
around 110 8C and the melting point, the maximum of
endothermic of melting peak in the scan, is around 145 8C.
From the figure, the crystallinity could be calculated as 30%.
It has been demonstrated that there is very little difference
between samples containing the natural and 1% of different
colour masterbatches. Another important feature to be
considered in Fig. 1 is that the DSC scans of all samples,
namely natural, 1% white colour masterbatch containing
PP-R, white compound, W1 and W2 samples differ
remarkably from each other, not only in their overall history
but also in their melting temperature peaks. These variations
are mainly due to the method that the samples are coloured,
i.e. compounding or 1% masterbatch addition, and the way
the samples are prepared, i.e. injection or extrusion. The
cooling history of the extruded pipes and injected samples is
rather different, resulting in some morphological variations
in the samples.
The early peaks and other multiple peak phenomena in
the DSC tests are attributed to the compositional heterogeneity of the crystal morphology of the polymer [15,16],
and to lower-molecular weight polymer, which melted very
early (i.e. wax, processing aid, dispersion aid) [17].
3.2. Colouring effects
The colouring of plastic products can be achieved easily
by adding a small percentage of colour masterbatches
during processing. To determine the effects of masterbatch
concentration on the tensile properties of PP-R, tensile tests
on samples containing 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10% masterbatches,
detailed in Table 1, were carried out. Fig. 2 depicts the
variation of yield stress with different colour masterbatch
content. The figure shows that the addition of masterbatch
diminishes the yield stress for masterbatch contents of up to
about 0.5%. Moreover, the yield stress recovers with
increasing the masterbatch content, and increasing the
content enhances the yield stress as well. It is worth pointing
out that the yield stresses of white, green and blue colour
compounds are very comparable and more or less similar to
that of 0.5% masterbatch samples. The decrease in the yield
stress with masterbatch content is due to the high MFI value
of the masterbatch (see Table 1). On the other hand, the
recovery and increase in the yield stress is attributed to the
reinforcing effect of pigments in the masterbatch [11], as
well as the nucleating effects of these pigments [18,19].

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

1015

30

Yield Stress [N/mm2]

29
28
27
26
25
24
23
Natural

White
Green
Blue
Grey

White
Green
Blue
Black
0.5%

W1
W2

1%
2.5%
5%
10% W GN B GR W1W2
Masterbatch Content [%]

Fig. 2. Variation of yield stress with masterbatch contents for PP-R material. (The bars W, white colour compound; GN, green colour
compound; B, blue colour compound; GR, grey colour compound; W1, White colour compound pipe; W2, 1% white colour masterbatch
containing pipe).

The last point in Fig. 2 to be mentioned is that the yield

stresses of samples extracted from the pipe, namely W1 and
W2, are significantly lower than that of the injection
moulded test samples. The difference between W1 and W2
is thought to be mainly due to the method of colouring, and
the differences between W1, W2 and others are due to
differences between the crystallisation histories of injection
and extrusion of the samples. This is another illustrative
example of the strong interrelationship between structure,
processing, morphology and final polymer [20].

Fig. 3 shows the variation of yield strain with

masterbatch content of the samples. The figure clearly
reveals that adding the masterbatch reduces the yield strain,
and this decline is almost linear for all masterbatch types.
The yield strain also depends on colour compound and is
much lower for the samples extracted directly from the pipe.
The decline in yield strain as a function of masterbatch
content is attributed to the reinforcing effect of pigments in
the masterbatches.

20

Yield Strain [%]

19

18

17

16
White
Green
Blue
Grey

White
Green
Blue
Black

15

14
Natural

0.5%

1%

W1
W2

2.5%
5%
10% W GN B GR W1 W2
Masterbatch Content [%]

Fig. 3. Variation of yield strain with masterbatch contents for PP-R material.

1016

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

60
55
50

White
Green
Blue
Black

White
Green
Blue
Grey

W1
W2

C V [kJ/m2]

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
Natural

0.5%

1%

2.5%
5%
10% W GN B GR W1 W2
Masterbatch Content [%]

Fig. 4. Variation of Charpy impact energy (Cv) with masterbatch contents for PP-R material.

The variation of Charpy impact energy with masterbatch

content is shown in Fig. 4, showing that for all types of
masterbatches the total Charpy impact energies increase
with masterbatch content up to 1%, after which the impact
energy remains constant. However, the impact energy
increases almost linearly with the white masterbatch
content. Regarding the compounded samples, the green
and blue compounded samples showed the highest impact
resistance.
Fig. 4 indicates more clearly that the inorganic based
pigments (namely green, blue, and black compounds
and masterbatch added samples) give better impact

properties than organic compounds (namely white, PP-R

polymer).
As pointed out elsewhere [10], the Charpy impact crack
initiation and propagation resistance of the material are
rather sensitive to the test temperature. The lower transition
temperature is around 0 8C, and above 85 8C the material
becomes too ductile to break. The present investigation
made it clear that neither the content nor the type of
masterbatch had any effect on this brittle-ductile transition.
The effect of masterbatch content on melting temperature, extracted from the DSC scans, is shown in Fig. 5
indicating that, except for the white masterbatch, adding

160

Melting Point [C]

155

150

145

140

135

130
Natural

White
Green
Blue
Black

0.5%

White
Green
Blue
Grey

W1
W2

1%
2.5% W GN B GR W1 W2
Masterbatch Content [%]

Fig. 5. Variation of melting point [Tm] with masterbatch contents for PP-R material.

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

1017

40
White
Green
Blue
Grey

White
Green
Blue
Black

38
36
34

W1
W2

c [%]

32
30
28
26
24
22
20
Natural

0.5%

1%
2.5% W GN B GR W1 W2
Masterbatch Content [ % ]

Fig. 6. Variation of crystallinity with masterbatch contents for PP-R material.

masterbatch does not have a significant influence on the

melting point of the polymer. The melting points of
coloured and compounded samples do not differ significantly from each other.
Fig. 6 indicates the volume percentage of crystallinity of
compounded and coloured PP-R samples. It could be
concluded from the figure that the addition of masterbatch
and compounding diminishes the crystallinity and the level
of crystallinity differs from one masterbatch to another,
which could be attributed to the different level of nucleating
activity of each pigment [18]. Therefore, different types of
pigments incorporated in PP-R result in different degrees of
crystallisation.
These results agree with the findings of Kening et al. [21]
and Krisher and Marshall [22], which showed that
incorporating pigments into PP affected its mechanical
properties mainly in a positive fashion.
105
CV
CV

180

33

150

32

15

140

31

0
5E3 25000

130

60

15

45

10

30

5
50

5E2

35

160

20

c%

34

75

0.5

Natural

170

25

0
0.05

Tm

90

Conditioning Time [hour]

Fig. 7. Effects of storage time on yield stress (sy) and Charpy impact
energy (Cv) of 1% white and 1% green masterbatch containing PP-R
material.

20

c [%]

1% White
1% Green

It is known that the properties of the polymeric material

may significantly change just after conversion, i.e. by
extrusion or injection processes. However, the history of this
property change is not known for this material, so it is worth
investigating what changes take place and how they depend
on time. After injection moulding, the PP-R samples were
conditioned at 22 8C and 50% relative humidity for a wide
range of timesbetween 5 min and 23 months in a box
which excluded light.
Fig. 7 shows the effect of storage time on yield strength
and Charpy impact resistance of 1% white and 1% green
masterbatch containing PP-R material. It is seen that the
impact strength decreases considerably with storage time,
and that it stabilizes about 30 days after production. As for
the yield stress, Fig. 7 shows that the yield stress increases
gradually with storage time and that after around 30 days it

Tm [C]

y [N/mm2]

30

y
y

CV [kJ/m2]

35

3.3. Time effects

30
100
1E3
1E4 20000
Conditioning Time [hour]

Fig. 8. Effect of storage time on melting temperature (Tm) and

crystallinity (c) of natural PP-R material.

1018

65

Hardness (Shore D)

64

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

Natural
%1 White

63
62
61
60
59
58
57
56
55
20

1E3
100
Conditioning Time [hour]

1E4 20000

Fig. 9. Effect of storage time on Shore D hardness for natural and

1% w white masterbatch containing PP-R material.

90
85

VST [C]

80

3.4. Natural UV weathering

75
70
65
60
600

remains fairly unchanged. The figure also reveals that time

dependent tensile strength and impact resistance values are
not sensitive to the type of masterbatch.
The variation of melting temperature and crystallinity
with storage time is shown given in Fig. 8, indicating that
both crystallinity and melting temperature increase with
storage time and that both values stabilise after about
30 days. Similarly, the variation of Shore D hardness with
storage time is plotted in Fig. 9, pointing out that the
hardness increases gradually after the injection of the
samples and remains relatively unchanged after more than
30 days after production.
Vicat softening temperature tests (VST) were utilised to
determine the softening temperature of the material. A
Zwick Vicat softening temperature tester at 50 N force and
50 8C/h heating rate was utilised to determine temperature at
which the indentor penetrates 1 mm into the material. This
value is particularly important for the conversion of the
material into the product. The variation of VST with storage
time is given in Fig. 10, showing a minor increase with
conditioning time for natural PP-R.

1E3

1E4

20000

Conditioning Time [hour]

Absorbed Total Solar Radiation Energy [GJ/m2]

Fig. 10. Effect of storage time on VST for natural PP-R material.

4.0

June
July
Tm
Tm
3.5 22.5C 26.1C
m
m
3.0 60.3% 68.6%

Every polymeric material exposed to direct sunlight

undergoes some damage. Plastic pipes made from PP-R
could be used outdoors and thus may undergo ultraviolet
(UV) degradation. This is especially the case for PP-R pipes
used in solar heating systems. For this type of application, it
is particularly important to decide what colour of PP-R pipe
to use and how its mechanical properties deteriorate with the
UV exposure time. Exposure of many plastics to ultraviolet
radiation causes a loss in their mechanical properties. The
mechanical property most severely affected is usually the

August September October November December Januar 02

Tm
Tm
Tm
Tm
Tm
24.6C
21.7C
16.7C
5.3C
11.2C
m
m
m
m
m
73.3%
66.8%
70.4%
85.9%
74.4%

2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
0

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000 5500
Solar Exposure Time [hour]

Fig. 11. Absorbed total solar radiation energy variation as a function of UV exposure time considered in this study. Tm and 4m represent the
average temperature and humidity, respectively.

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

y
y
y
y
y

36
35

23

67
66

21
20
19

32

18

31

17

30

16

29

15

28

14

27

13

61

26

12
5000

60

1000

2000

3000

4000

ductility of the material [23]. Pigment systems, on the other

hand, influence to what extent materials are affected by
ultraviolet radiation exposure. Some colours, such as black,
may make the material less susceptible to ultraviolet
radiation degradation than others [24].
Several series of tensile, Charpy impact, Shore D and
DSC tests were carried out on test samples exposed to
sunshine for different times, up to six months during the
summer time. All samples were suspended so that they
could freely rotate, enabling each surface to be UV affected
uniformly. Fig. 11 shows the total absorbed energy as a
function of exposure time.
The variation of tensile properties with exposure time is
shown in Fig. 12. The figure reveals that both yield stress
and yield strain decreases with UV exposure time for all
samples. Most significantly, the greatest decrease is seen in
the natural PP-R. The least UV affected sample is the PP-R
containing 1% black masterbatch.
The effect of natural UV weathering time on the Charpy
impact resistance of PP-R material is shown in Fig. 13,
showing that for all the samples the Charpy impact energy
25

Natural
White
Green
Blue
Black

20
15
10
5

63
62

1000

2000
3000
4000
Weathering Time [Hour]

5000

Fig. 14. Natural UV weathering time effect on Shore D hardness of

natural and 1% coloured PP-R material.

diminishes with the UV exposure time. However,

black samples are the least and natural samples the most
affected.
Fig. 14 shows the variation of the Shore hardness with
UV exposure time. The figure shows that just after
the beginning of natural UV exposure, the hardness of the
samples increases with exposure time for all samples. It is
also worth mentioning that the least affected are the
natural colour samples, which have higher opacities. The
hardness increase in blue and green samples is
pronounced. Black samples are exceptions, mainly due
to the carbon black content of the masterbatch. As stated
by Turton and White [24], pigments that simply reflect or
scatter UV, preventing it from penetrating far into the
plastics, also limit degradation to a region close to the
surface.
Fundamental studies in the area of polymer morphology
almost universally employ DSC. Thermal analysis has also
played a significant role in the degradation studies of
semicrystalline polymers [25]. DSC tests on UV degraded
samples could be a good indication of morphological

0.9
Heat Flow [mcal/s]

Fig. 12. Natural UV weathering time effect on yield stress (sy) and
yield strain (3y) of natural and 1% coloured PP-R material.

64

Weathering Time [hour]

CV[kJ/m2]

65

33

Natural
White
Green
Blue
Black

22

y [%]

y [N/mm2]

34

y
y
y
y
y

Natural
1% White
1% Green
1% Blue
1% Black

Hardness [Shore D]

37

1019

0.4

0 hour
504 hour
2304 hour
4776 hour

0.1
0.6
1.1

0
0

1000

2000
3000
4000
Weathering Time [hour]

5000

Fig. 13. Natural UV weathering time effect on Charpy impact

strength (Cv) of natural 1% coloured PP-R material.

1.6
70

85

100

115 130 145 160

Temperature [C]

175

190

Fig. 15. Natural UV weathering time effect on the DSC thermal

history of natural PP-R material.

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

0.3

4.0

0.5

3.5

MFI (gr/10 min)

Heat Flow [mcal/s]

1020

0.7
0.9
1.1
0 hour
504 hour
2304 hour
4776 hour

1.3
1.5

85

3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5

1.7
70

Natural
White
Green
Blue
Black

100 115 130 145 160 175 190

Temperature [C]

0.0

500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000

Weathering Time (hour)

Fig. 16. Natural UV weathering time effect on the DSC thermal

history of 1% blue coloured PP-R material.

Fig. 18. Effect of natural UV weathering time on the variation of

MFI values for PP-R material containing 1% white, green, blue and
black masterbatch and natural PP-R.

changes in the material. The DSC scans obtained in this

study show that the degree of UV degradation sensitivity
differs from one colour to other. From the comparison of
Figs. 1517, it could be deduced that the most affected
sample is the natural (Fig. 15) and the least effected ones are
the black, blue (Fig. 16), white (Fig. 17) and green coloured
samples, respectively, showing strong structural modifications due to UV degradation. This dependence is
attributed to the fact that the different pigments used in
the masterbatches have different UV absorption/screening
mechanisms, resulting in different protective mechanisms
against UV exposure [26,27].
The effect of adding different colour masterbatches on
the UV performance of PP-R material was also evaluated
using the melt flow index (MFI) study. MFI was measured at
230 8C at 21.6 N according to ISO 1133 standard on UV
exposed samples containing 1 wt% blue, black, green and
white colour masterbatch. For the sake of comparison, the
variation of MFI with exposure time for natural PP-R was
also measured. The results in Fig. 18 show that natural and

green samples were the most affected and black, blue and
white samples were the least UV affected. The results of
these MFI measurements correlate with the DSC results in
Figs. 1517. The increase in MFI is attributed to the chain
scission and formation of new groups [25].

Heat Flow [mcal/s]

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0
70

504 hour
2880 hour
4320 hour
90

110

130

150

170

190

Temperature [C]
Fig. 17. Effect of Natural UV weathering time on the variation of
DSC melting curves for PP-R material containing 1% white
masterbatch.

4. Conclusions
The results of the present investigation indicate that the
way the test samples are produced, i.e. injection or
extrusion, strongly influences the overall mechanical
properties of polymers.
Mechanical and DSC tests showed that both the type and
content of masterbatches in PP-R influence not only the
degree of crystallinity but also the structure and mechanical
properties of the polymer. The addition of colour
masterbatches increases the short term yield stress and
impact strength but reduces the yield strain. The yield and
Charpy impact resistance of both natural and 1%
masterbatch containing PP-R material continuously vary
during the room temperature conditioning period of about
30 days, and then remain fairly constant. The property
changes in mechanical and thermal properties, particularly
in yield strength and Charpy impact resistance, after the
injection moulding could not solely be explained through
post-crystallisation. Apart from the slight variation in
crystallinity, the influence of the polymer parameters fixed
in the synthesis, namely average molar mass, molar mass
distribution and chain regularity [28] as well as the
reduction of free volume of the amorphous phase has to be
taken into account [29].
For all naturally aged PP-R samples coloured in different
ways the yield strength, yield strain and Charpy impact
energy decrease with increasing natural UV weathering
time. Shore D hardness, on the other hand, increased with
the degradation time. Tensile and impact properties were
affected mostly by UV in samples having higher opacities.

S. Sahin, P. Yayla / Polymer Testing 24 (2005) 10121021

Morphology, crystallization and melting behaviour is also

affected by the addition of masterbatch to a degree which
depends on masterbatch type.
This study provides a clear view of the influence of
masterbatch type and content on both mechanical properties. Similarly, the UV degradation of the PP-R is very much
masterbatch, thus pigment, dependent, making it clear that
pigments vary in their UV stability. With this work it is
evidenced that the MFI tests on UV degraded samples are
quite useful to assess the extent of degradation. This has
practical implications for durability assessment and stabilization strategies.

Acknowledgements
We are greatly indebted to colleagues at both industrial
as well as university laboratories for their positive interest,
and especially to Turkkablo A.O., Emas A.S., and Pipelife
A.S. The raw materials supplied by Borealis S.A. are
gratefully acknowledged. Dr P.S. Leevers of Imperial
College UK, and Prof. Dr E. Cavusoglu of Arili Plastik of
Turkey are also appreciated for their valuable discussion
and comments on the manuscript.

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