Time/Molecular Weight Superposition to Describe the Behavior of Controlled-Rheology Polypropylenes

Polypropylene resins issuing from polymerization reactors are degraded by peroxides in subsequent reactive extrusion processes to improve their processability. This operation reduces their molecular weight and, thus, their viscosity and elasticity. In a previous study, a series of homo- and copolymer polypropylenes of different molecular weight distributions were prepared by twin-screw extrusion and characterized by oscillatory rheometry. It was shown that their behavior could be described by Carreau-Yasuda equations, possibly with a yield stress, in which all parameters depended on the weight average molecular weight. By using these experimental data, it is show in the present study that a time/molecular weight superposition allowed for a drastic reduction in the number of parameters to be considered in order to precisely describe the viscous behavior of these materials. This concept was then validated by applying it to various experimental data from the bibliography.