DEVELOPMENT OF SOFTWARE FOR EVALUATION OF UNIFORMITY OF FILLER DISTRIBUTION IN A POLYMER MATRIX
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30857/2786-5371.2021.6.4Keywords:
polyethylene, colloidal graphite, compositions, coefficient of heterogeneityAbstract
Purpose. Creation of software for evaluating the uniformity of distribution of the filler in a polyethylene matrix.
Methodology. Software development was carried out using the Python programming language and libraries: PIL, Numpy, Matplotlib, Xlsxwriter. The suitability of the developed software for use was determined by verifying it. During this verification, polyethylene compositions filled with colloidal graphite in the form of compressed films were evaluated. To obtain these compositions, we chose P6006AD grade polyethylene and C-1 colloidal graphite. Samples of polyethylene compositions were obtained in two stages: 1) obtaining a strand by extrusion; 2) additional mixing of the composition on a disc mixer and pressing the obtained compositions into a film.
Findings. The software has been developed to assess the uniformity of the distribution of the filler in the polyethylene matrix. The data were established on the dependence of the coefficient of heterogeneity of polyethylene compositions on the content of colloidal graphite with use of the developed software. The increase in the content of the filler leads to a decrease in its heterogeneity. It is shown that this effect can be explained by the structuring of the filler in the polyethylene matrix. Despite the formation of aggregates in polyethylene compositions, a significant amount of small colloidal particles of graphite is located between the aggregate space. This leads to a certain leveling of the concentration in the film and reduces its inhomogeneity.
Scientific novelty. The influence of the content of colloidal graphite on the homogeneity of polyethylene compositions is determined. It is shown that with an increase in the graphite content from 0 to 20% vol. the coefficient of heterogeneity of the composition decreases from 5.3% to 3.9%, which is due to the structuring of the filler in the polyethylene matrix.
Practical value. Software that makes it possible to evaluate the uniformity of the distribution of filler particles in a polymer matrix, and can be used to study the quality of mixing of polymer composite materials has been developed.
