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Fillers on Shielding
Effectiveness in Conductive
Nylon 6,6- and
Polycarbonate-Based Resins
QUINTON J. KRUEGER, JULIA A. KING
Department of Chemical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton,
Michigan 49931-1295
Received: May 29, 2002
Accepted: January 9, 2003
Introduction
(1)
97
TABLE I
Properties of Akzo Nobel Kejenblack EC-600 JD
Carbon Black14
Electrical resistivity of
carbon black
Product form
0.010.1 cm
Pellet in size from
100 m to a few mm
30100 nm
1.8 g/cc
Bulk density
Ash, max
Moisture, max
100120 kg/m3
0.1 wt %
0.5 wt %
1250 m2 /g
98
polymer, which results in improved electrical conductivity at low carbon black concentrations. Table II
shows the properties of ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty Graphite, a high quality synthetic graphite that
is available from Conoco, Inc. Thermocarb was used
because of its high-thermal conductivity and moderately high-electrical conductivity.15 BP/Amocos
pitch-based milled (200 m long) carbon fiber, ThermalGraph DKD X, was used to improve the electrical
and thermal conductivity and the tensile strength of
the resin. Table III shows the properties of this carbon
fiber.16
In this study, a 23 factorial design (three factors
or fillers in this case at two different loading levels) was completed in each polymer. In addition, a
complete replicate of the factorial design was also
completed in each polymer. For all fillers, the lowloading level was zero wt %. The high-loading level
varied for each filler. The high levels were 5 wt % for
Ketjenblack EC-600 JD, 30 wt % for ThermocarbTM
TC-300 Specialty Graphite, and 20 wt % for ThermalGraph DKD X. Table IV shows the factorial design
formulations. Since this project focuses on producing
highly conductive composites, the high-loading levels were chosen so that the filler amounts would be
above the electrical conductivity percolation threshold. Another consideration was that the total wt %
filler for the composite with all fillers at the high
TABLE II
Properties
Graphite15
of
ThermocarbTM
Ash
Sulfur
Vibrated bulk density
Density
Particle sizing,a vol %
(by Sieve Method)
+48 Tyler Mesh
48/+80 Tyler Mesh
80/+200 Tyler Mesh
200/+325 Tyler Mesh
325 Tyler Mesh
Thermal conductivity at 23C
Electrical resistivity
Mean particle aspect ratio
Particle shape
a
TC-300
Specialty
<0.1 wt %
0.02 wt %
0.66 g/cc
2.24 g/cc
4
22
48
16
10
600 W/mK on a
6 mm particle
105 cm
(approximate)
2.0
Irregular
>1.39 GPa
687927 GPa
<3 m
400700 W/mK
Fiber density
2.152.25 g/cm3
Bulk density
Fiber diameter
Filament shape
Average filament length
Filament length distribution
Carbon assay
0.250.55 g/cm3
10 m
Round
200 m
<20% less than 100 m
<20% greater than 300 m
99+ wt %
Surface area
0.4 m2 /g
The extruder used was an American Leistritz Extruder Corporation Model ZSE 27. This extruder has
a 27 mm corotating intermeshing twin screw with
10 zones and a length/diameter ratio of 40. The
screw design, displayed in Fig. 1, was chosen to obtain the maximum possible conductivity. Hence, a
minimum amount of filler degradation was desired,
while still dispersing the fillers well in the polymers.
The same screw design was used for the entire study.
The polymer pellets (Zytel or Lexan) were introduced in Zone 1. The first side stuffer, utilized to
introduce carbon black and Thermocarb TM TC-300
Specialty Graphite into the polymer melt, was located at Zone 5. The second side stuffer was located
at Zone 7 and was used to introduce the carbon fiber
into the polymer melt. Four Schenck AccuRate gravimetric feeders were used to accurately control the
amount of each material added to the extruder.
After passing through the extruder, the polymer
strands (3 mm in diameter) entered a water bath and
then a pelletizer that produced nominally 3-mm long
pellets. After compounding, the pelletized composite resin was dried again and then stored in moisture
barrier bags prior to injection molding.
A Niigata injection molding machine, model
NE85UA4 , was used to produce test specimens. This
machine has a 40-mm diameter single screw with
a length/diameter ratio of 18. The lengths of the
feed, compression, and metering sections of the single screw are 396, 180, and 144 mm, respectively. A
single cavity mold was used to produce 3.2-mm thick
and 13.1-cm diameter disks (end gated). The SE of all
formulations, except the formulation containing all
three fillers in polycarbonate, were determined. This
highest filler loading polycarbonate-based resin was
too viscous to mold.
TABLE IV
Filler Loadings in Factorial Design Formulations for Nylon 6,6 and Polycarbonate
Formulations
Ketjenblack
EC-600 JD (wt %)
ThermocarbTM TC-300
Specialty Graphite (wt %)
ThermalGraph
DKD X (wt %)
No filler
CB
SG
CBSG
CF
CBCF
SGCF
CBSGCF
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
5
0
0
30
30
0
0
30
30
0
0
0
0
20
20
20
20
CB: Carbon black; SG: Synthetic graphite (ThermocarbTM TC-300 Speciality Graphite); CF: Carbon fiber.
99
TABLE V
Single Filler Loading Levels for Nylon 6,6 and
Polycarbonate
Filler
Kejenblack EC-600 JD
ThermocarbTM TC-300
Specialty Graphite
ThermalGraph DKD X
SE TEST METHOD
FILLER LENGTH AND ASPECT
RATIO TEST METHOD
Main Feed
0D
GFA 2-40-90
GFA 2-30-90
4D
GFA 2-20-30
KB 5-2-30-30
KB 5-2-30-60
8D
KB 5-2-30-60
12D
KB 5-2-30-90
16D
GFA 2-40-90
GFA 2-30-60
KB 5-2-30-30
KB 5-2-30-60
KB 5-2-30-90
20D
Atmospheric
Back Vent
KS 1-2-10 E
KS 1-2-10 A
Side Stuffer
24D
GFA 2-40-90
GFA 2-30-60
28D
KB 5-2-30-30
KB 5-2-30-60
32D
GFA 2-40-90
36D
GFA 2-30-90
GFA 2-30-30
40D
Side Stuffer
GFA 2-40-90
Atmospheric
Vent
Kneading disks
KS1-d-hh-i
KS1 = Kneading disc
d = number of threads
h = length of kneading disc in millimeters
i = A for initial disc and E for end disc
Zones
0D to 4D is Zone 1 (water cooled, not heated)
4D to 8D is Zone 2 and Heating Zone 1
8D to 12D is Zone 3 and Heating Zone 2
12D to 16D is Zone 4 and Heating Zone 3
16D to 20D is Zone 5 and Heating Zone 4
20D to 24D is Zone 6 and Heating Zone 5
24D to 28D is Zone 7 and Heating Zone 6
28D to 32D is Zone 8 and Heating Zone 7
32D to 36D is Zone 9 and Heating Zone 8
36D to 40D is Zone 10 and Heating Zone 9
Nozzle is Heating Zone 10
100
Results
FILLER LENGTH AND ASPECT
RATIO RESULTS
Table VI shows the mean length and aspect ratio
(length/diameter) results of the synthetic graphite
particles and carbon fibers for the factorial design
formulations in both polymers after the fillers were
removed via solvent digestion. The values listed under the as received formulation are the length and
aspect ratio of the filler prior to extrusion and injection molding.19,20
The results in Table VI show that there is a significant degradation of the carbon fibers following the extrusion and injection molding steps. The
mean length and aspect ratio of the as received carbon fibers was 167.5 m and 16.75, respectively.
This compares well to the reported vendor literature value which states a 200 m mean carbon fiber
length.16 In the 20 wt % carbon fiber formulation in
nylon 6,6, the fibers now have a mean length of 95 m
(aspect ratio = 9.5). In the nylon-based composites
containing both carbon fibers and synthetic graphite,
the mean length of the fibers was 77 m (aspect ratio = 7.7). The fiber results for the polycarbonatebased composites were similar to those of the nylon composites, with the length decreasing to 82 m
(aspect ratio = 8.2) in the 20 wt % formulation, and
then to a 71 m length (aspect ratio = 7.1) in the
composite containing fibers and synthetic graphite.
Overall, processing reduced the carbon fiber length
and aspect ratio to approximately half of its as received values. These length results are comparable
to those reported by Bigg who showed that carbon
101
Mean Length and Aspect Ratio Results for Factorial Design Formulations19,20
Nylon 6,6
Polycarbonate
Formulation
Length (m)
Aspect Ratio
Length (m)
Aspect Ratio
167.5
68.3
74.8
56.0
95.7
94.1
71.7
59.7
82.3
41.9
16.75
1.80
1.68
1.61
9.57
9.41
7.17
1.84
8.23
1.72
167.5
68.3
43.8
49.7
85.7
81.7
71.4
33.6
70.8
33.0
16.75
1.80
1.66
1.70
8.57
8.17
7.14
1.67
7.08
1.67
fiber/nylon 6,6 composites had fiber lengths of approximately 130 m after extrusion and injection
molding.21
Table VI also shows the lengths and aspect ratios
of the synthetic graphite particles (ThermocarbTM
TC-300 Specialty Graphite). Table VI shows that the
length and aspect ratio of the synthetic graphite particles in the composite specimens remain similar to
that of the as received material. This result is likely
due to the relatively small length and aspect ratio
of the as received ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty
Graphite. The as received synthetic graphite has a
mean length of 68 m and a mean aspect ratio of
1.8. In the 30 wt % synthetic graphite formulation in
nylon 6,6, the graphite particles now have a mean
length of 65 m (aspect ratio = 1.65). In the nylonbased composites containing both carbon fibers and
synthetic graphite, the mean length of the synthetic
graphite was 51 m (aspect ratio = 1.78). The results
for the polycarbonate-based composites were similar to those of the nylon composites.
102
Nylon 6,6
Polycarbonate
SE RESULTS
The SE for the composites containing only varying
amounts of carbon black in both polymers is shown
in Fig. 2 at 300 and 800 MHz. Each data point shown
in Fig. 2 is the mean of three load samples and one
reference sample tested per formulation. Figure 2
shows that adding carbon black to both resins causes
the SE to increase significantly from 0 dB for the
neat polymer to approximately 22 dB for 10 wt %
(6.6 vol % in nylon, 6.9 vol % in polycarbonate) carbon black in both polymers. The SE results are similar
for both polymers and for both frequencies (300 and
800 MHz).
TABLE VIII
28.68
29.50
19.59
20.01
16.76
45.92
38.05
21.77
24.00
22.23
37.5
22.5
10.0
16.6
24.6
1.3
1.8
3.7
Ref. 19 and Personal Communication with Kruss Laboratory Services (Kruss USA, Charlotte, NC, August 2001).
103
25
20
15
10
0
0
Shielding Effectiveness
(dB)
18.00
16.00
14.00
12.00
10.00
8.00
6.00
4.00
2.00
0.00
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Frequency (MHz)
5 Wt% Carbon Black in Nylon
5 Wt% Carbon Black Replicate in Nylon
5 Wt% Carbon Black in Polycarbonate
5 Wt% Carbon Black Replicate in Polycarbonate
FIGURE 3. Shielding effectiveness of composites containing 5 wt % carbon black in nylon 6,6 and in polycarbonate.
104
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
10
15
Volume % Thermocarb
20
TM
25
30
Specialty Graphite
FIGURE 4. Shielding effectiveness of composites containing only ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty Graphite.
Figure 5 shows the SE of the 30 wt % ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty Graphite (17.9 vol % in nylon, 18.7 vol % in polycarbonate) in both polymers
over the entire frequency range measured. Once
again, one notices that the SE is slightly higher in
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Frequency (MHz)
30 Wt% Thermocarb TM Specialty Graphite in Nylon
30 Wt% Thermocarb TM Specialty Graphite Replicate in Nylon
30 Wt% Thermocarb TM Specialty Graphite in Polycarbonate
30 Wt% Thermocarb TM Specialty Graphite Replicate in Polycarbonate
105
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
10
15
20
25
30
106
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Frequency (MHz)
20 Wt% Carbon Fiber in Nylon
20 Wt% Carbon Fiber Replicate in Nylon
20 Wt% Carbon Fiber in Polycarbonate
20 Wt% Carbon Fiber Replicate in Polycarbonate
FIGURE 7. Shielding effectiveness of composites containing 20 wt % carbon fiber in nylon 6,6 and in polycarbonate.
the nylon-based resins. Table X gives the SE results for each factorial design formulation for the
polycarbonate-based resins. A complete replicate of
the full factorial was completed in each resin. Hence,
TABLE IX
Shielding Effectiveness Results at 300 and 800 MHz
for Factorial Design Formulations in Nylon 6,6
Mean
Shielding Effectiveness (dB) Shielding
Effectiveness
(dB)
Formulation
Original
Replicate
300 MHz
No filler
0.03 0.05
CB
7.35 0.23
SG
1.30 0.06
CBSG
23.11 0.40
CF
2.32 0.16
CBCF
21.00 0.45
SGCF
10.08 0.06
CBSG CF 42.63 0.32
800 MHz
No filler
0.10 0.04
CB
7.17 0.20
SG
2.22 0.04
CBSG
23.11 0.10
CF
4.24 0.28
CBCF
20.88 0.40
SGCF
13.08 0.17
CBSGCF 42.44 0.83
0.07 0.19
7.42 0.03
1.74 0.08
22.90 0.26
2.34 0.17
20.19 0.36
12.81 0.23
40.88 0.40
0.05
7.39
1.52
23.01
2.33
20.60
11.45
41.76
0.07 0.05
7.18 0.01
3.04 0.17
23.09 0.23
4.25 0.13
19.89 0.15
15.34 0.17
42.01 0.32
0.09
7.18
2.63
23.10
4.25
20.39
14.21
42.23
0.09
10.31
3.13
28.12
3.27
26.92
17.39
0.02
10.78
5.44
27.65
5.65
26.22
19.05
107
40.00
35.00
30.00
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Frequency (MHz)
Nylon
Carbon Black
Synthetic Graphite
Carbon Fiber
FIGURE 8. Shielding effectiveness results for the nylon 6,6-based factorial design formulations.
Figure 8 shows the mean SE for the nylon-based
factorial design formulations over the entire range
of frequencies measured. Figure 9 shows the mean
SE for the polycarbonate-based factorial design formulations over the entire range of frequencies measured. Several observations can be made by studying
the results in Tables IX and X and in Figs. 8 and
9. First, for the same formulation, the SE at 300
and 800 MHz are similar. Second, for the same formulation, the original and replicate SE values are
similar. Third, for each formulation with the same
concentration of filler, the SE is slightly higher for
the polycarbonate-based resins as compared to the
nylon-based resins. Fourth, the composite containing all three fillers in nylon at 800 MHz had a SE
of 42 dB, which is higher than the any resin containing only one filler (maximum SE in nylon with
single filler was 10 wt % carbon black at 21 dB).
While it is apparent that the combinations of fillers
produces higher conductivity results, the exact effect of the combinations is not obvious without
the application of statistical experimental design
calculations.
108
tical Software package. Calculations were also performed using Microsoft Excel 2000 so as to verify and
understand the results obtained with the Minitab
calculations. For this analysis, the effects and P values for the SE results were calculated. For all statistical calculations, the 95% confidence level was
used.
Factorial designs were used in the project since
they are the most efficient type of experiment to determine the effect of each filler and any possible interactions between fillers. By using factorials, one can
determine the effect that each factor (filler) has on
the system by calculating a single value to quantify
the change in SE as the weight percent of a filler is increased. These calculated effects can then be ranked
to determine which fillers and combinations of fillers
produced a larger change.24
The effects and P values for the nylon 6,6-based
composites are given in Table XI, showing the values for all of the filler combinations. Further investigation of Table XI yields some important information regarding the effects that fillers have on SE at
300 and 800 MHz. First, all the effect terms are positive, which indicates that the addition of any filler
increases the SE of the composite. Second, the effects and P values are similar for 300 and 800 MHz.
Third, the effect term is the largest for carbon black,
which indicates that carbon black causes the largest
increase in composite SE. Fourth, the effect terms for
25.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Frequency (MHz)
Polycarbonate
Carbon Black
Synthetic Graphite
Carbon Fiber
FIGURE 9. Shielding effectiveness results for the polycarbonate-based factorial design formulations.
TABLE XI
Factorial Design Analysis for Nylon 6,6-Based Conductive Resins at 300 and 800 MHz
Term
300 MHz
CB
SG
CF
CB SG
CB CF
SG CF
CB SG CF
800 MHz
CB
SG
CF
CB SG
CB CF
SG CF
CB SG CF
Effect
19.37
11.87
11.07
6.52
4.91
3.27
0.50
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.269
17.93
12.57
12.02
6.31
4.15
3.33
0.38
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.286
109
TABLE XII
Factorial Design Analysis for Polycarbonate-Based
Conductive Resins at 300 and 800 MHz
Term
300 MHz
CB
SG
CF
CB*SG
CB*CF
SG*CF
800 MHz
CB
SG
CF
CB SG
CB CF
SG CF
110
Effect
24.32
15.97
15.44
7.30
6.63
5.46
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
21.39
15.14
14.53
5.73
4.90
3.99
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
0.000
Conclusions
As a result of this study, the following conclusions
can be made:
Extrusion and injection molding reduced the
length and aspect ratio of the carbon fiber in
the conductive composites to approximately
half of its original length (168 m) and aspect ratio (16.8). However, the length (typically 6070 m) and aspect ratio (typically
1.71.8) of the ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty
Graphite in the composite specimens remain
similar to that of the as received material.
This high purity synthetic graphite likely maintained its size better as compared to carbon
fiber since the as received ThermocarbTM TC300 material has a smaller length and aspect
ratio.
For the SE samples, the synthetic graphite particles and carbon fibers are mainly oriented transverse to the direction of SE measurement.
By studying the SE factorial experiment results
in both nylon and polycarbonate, several
conclusions can be made at the 95% confidence level for both polymers. First, carbon black caused the largest increase in SE,
followed by ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty
Graphite and carbon fiber, which have a
similar effect. Adding two different fillers
also causes SE to increase in the following
order:
Carbon Black/ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty
Graphite> Carbon Black/Carbon Fiber> ThermocarbTM TC-300 Specialty Graphite /Carbon Fiber
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Conoco, Akzo Nobel,
BP/Amoco, and DuPont for providing polymers
and carbon fillers.
References
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