10.1002/spepro.

003287

Using a torque rheometer to

characterize flow in poly(vinyl
chloride) composites
Gulsen Albayrak Ari

An instrument that is basically a batch mixer provides valuable data

regarding the processability of polymer micro- and nanomaterials, and
is also a useful tool in quality control and product development.
Rheology studies the flow of matter. The term is used to describe the
properties of a wide variety of materials, such as polymers, inks, foods,
and oils. Insight into the rheological properties of polymers provides
essential information regarding their processability. Rheometers measure a materials rheological properties. These instruments come in a
wide variety of types, for example, capillary, parallel-plate, and torque
rheometers. The torque rheometer, in particular, expeditiously evaluates the flow behavior of polymer blends, composites, and so forth
and is used in most laboratories investigating polymer processing. This
instrument helps to answer a number of important questions.1 For
instance, how do polymer additives (e.g., plasticizers, UV stabilizers,
and flame retardants) alter flow? For a composite, will filler increase or
decrease viscosity? How much will it affect melt behavior? What is the
time dependence of the changes in rheology that occur on blending?
What is a suitable processing temperature for a given composite material? Accordingly, a torque rheometer is also a valuable tool in quality
control and product development.2
The torque rheometer is basically a batch mixer that measures the
torque (twisting force) required to rotate its blades at a fixed rotor speed
as a function of time during mixing. The torque produced by the resistance of a material to shearing action is an indirect indicator of shear
stress, and the rotor speed is an indirect indicator of shear rate. The
torque and rotor-speed data can be converted into viscosity and shear
rate using correlations based on the instruments dimensions.3 Using
this data, Goodrich and Porter4 formulated equations that describe how
the torque observed in a Brabender torque rheometer translates into various rheological properties. Pastorini and Nunes similarly interpreted
data from a Haake torque rheometer.5
We prepared poly(vinyl chloride)/calcium carbonate (PVC/CaCO3 )
micro- and nanocomposites using a Haake torque rheometer. We

Figure 1. Fusion curves of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) micro- and

nanocomposites melted in a Haake torque rheometer at 190 C and 50
rotations/min for a blending time of 10min. Ca: Calcium. Nm: Newtonmeter.

investigated the effects of CaCO3 particle size on the rheological properties and processability of PVC/CaCO3 micro- and nanocomposites
using torque, time, and rotor-speed data obtained with a Haake torque
rheometer.6 The PVC we used was a suspension resin with solutionviscosity K value 66 (trade name, Petvinil S27), supplied by Petkim
A.S. (Turkey). It has a number-average molecular weight of 50,500.
We used various types of CaCO3 with different particle sizes (3 and
2m, and 300 and 25nm) as filler. We performed melt mixing of the
PVC compounds in a Haake torque rheometer with a Rheomix 600
mixing chamber and roller-blade rotors. The processing temperature
and blending time were set to 190 C and 10min, respectively. We also
examined the effect of rotor speed on the fusion behavior of samples in

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10.1002/spepro.003287 Page 2/2

the range of 3090 rotations/min (rpm). We determined shear stress,

shear rate, power-law index, and viscosity data using the equations
formulated by Goodrich and Porter and the effective dimensions
of the Haake torque rheometer determined by Pastorini and Nunes.
Finally, we looked at fusion characteristics such as time, temperature,
torque, and energy, which are the major factors determining processing
conditions.
Figure 1 shows the fusion curves of all our PVC/CaCO3 composites. Fusion time decreased with decreasing CaCO3 particle size, but
fusion torque increased under the same conditions. In contrast, fusion temperature decreased. We conclude that the number of CaCO3
particles increases as CaCO3 particle size decreases, the increase in
the number of CaCO3 particles increases the frictional forces between
the hot metal surface and the particles and also between particles and
polymer chains, and the increase in the frictional forces enhances
frictional heat, which contributes to the decrease in fusion temperature. At low rotor speeds, the viscosity of the composites decreased
with decreasing CaCO3 particle size, except for 25nm-sized CaCO3 .
In the case of higher rotor speed (>50rpm), CaCO3 particle size did
not significantly change the viscosity of the PVC system except for
25nm-sized CaCO3 . Indeed, PVC/Ca-25nm has the highest apparent
viscosity among PVC/CaCO3 micro- and nanocomposites. This material has a larger surface area and greater interaction between polymer
and particles than the other composites, which hinders the disentangling of the molecular chains of PVC. Consequently, we conclude that
the rheological data of PVC composites, such as the power-law index,
shear stress, and viscosity, varies with frictional forces and the mobility of the polymer chain, which are themselves influenced by CaCO3
particle size. We also found that the torque rheometer has advantages
in comparison with other rheometers or industrial installations, such
as easy operation and quick results with smaller samples. Our results
show that we can easily and quickly determine the rheological properties of PVC/CaCO3 composites. Our next step will be to model the
rheological properties of polymer systems using torque rheometry.

Author Information
Gulsen Albayrak Ari
University of Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey
Gulsen Albayrak Ari has been a research assistant in the Department
of Chemical Engineering since 2001.
References
1. http://www.che.lsu.edu/faculty/dooley/Rheo3.pdf Use of the torque rheometer to study
blends/composites rheology. Accessed 15 October 2010.
2. B. Cheng, C. Zhou, W. Yu, and X. Sun, Evaluation of rheological parameters of polymer
melts in torque rheometer, Polym. Test. 20, p. 811, 2001.
3. H. I. Halimatuddahliana and H. M. Akil, Flow behavior of polypropylene/ethylenepropylene diene terpolymer/natural rubber (PP/EPDM/NR) blends by torque rheometer: the effect of N,N-m-phenylene bismaleimide (HVA-2) addition, Polym. Plast. Tech.
Eng. 44, p. 1429, 2005.
4. J. E. Goodrich and R. S. Porter, A rheological interpretation of torque-rheometer data,
Polym. Eng. Sci. 7, p. 45, 1967.
5. M. T. Pastorini and R. C. R. Nunes, Rheological characterization of ABS, PC, and their
blends through the interpretation of torque rheometer data, Polym. Plast. Tech. Eng.
41, p. 161, 2002.
6. G. A. Ari and I. Aydin, Rheological and fusion behaviors of PVC micro- and nanocomposites evaluated from torque rheometer data, J. Vinyl Addit. Technol. In press.

c 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)