Enhancing Mixing and Thermal Management of Recycled Carbon Composite Systems by Torsion-Induced Phase-to-Phase Thermal and Molecular Mobility

Centre for Biocomposites and Biomaterial Processing, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3B3, Canada

College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Polymers 2020, 12(4), 771; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040771

Received: 27 February 2020 / Revised: 26 March 2020 / Accepted: 27 March 2020 / Published: 1 April 2020

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Screw Processing of Polymeric Materials - In Memory of Professor James Lindsay White)

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Abstract

A novel torsion screw has been proposed to resolve the inadequate control of mass transfer and the thermal management of two component polymer blends and their carbon fiber composites. The novel torsional screw distinctly introduced radial flow in the torsion screw channel, which is a significant improvement over the flow pattern developed by the conventional screw. The heat transfer and mixing behavior of melt mixtures are enhanced by adapting screws with torsion elements compared with the traditional screw elements. Heat transfer efficacy in the polypropylene–polystyrene bi-phasic extrusion process improved with the increase in torsion element numbers. An increased number of newly designed torsional elements also improved the dispersion of minor phase in bi-phase polypropylene–polystyrene composition and their carbon fiber composites. The unique flow pattern induced by the torsion elements shows a synergistic effect on the melt-phase mass flow and the thermal flow field facilitating phase-to-phase thermal and molecular mobility and enhanced fiber orientation, crystallinity and mechanical properties of composite made from recycled carbon fiber/polypropylene. Microtomographs of recycled carbon fiber demonstrated the extraordinary ability of a torsion screw element to orient carbon fiber in both axial and radial directions. View Full-Text

Keywords: field synergy; torsional flow; heat and mass transfer; recycled carbon composites; mixing and thermal management

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MDPI and ACS Style

Jian, R.; Shi, Z.; Liu, H.; Yang, W.; Sain, M. Enhancing Mixing and Thermal Management of Recycled Carbon Composite Systems by Torsion-Induced Phase-to-Phase Thermal and Molecular Mobility. Polymers 2020, 12, 771. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040771

AMA Style

Jian R, Shi Z, Liu H, Yang W, Sain M. Enhancing Mixing and Thermal Management of Recycled Carbon Composite Systems by Torsion-Induced Phase-to-Phase Thermal and Molecular Mobility. Polymers. 2020; 12(4):771. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040771

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jian, Ranran, Zhonghe Shi, Haichao Liu, Weimin Yang, and Mohini Sain. 2020. "Enhancing Mixing and Thermal Management of Recycled Carbon Composite Systems by Torsion-Induced Phase-to-Phase Thermal and Molecular Mobility" Polymers 12, no. 4: 771. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12040771

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Enhancing Mixing and Thermal Management of Recycled Carbon Composite Systems by Torsion-Induced Phase-to-Phase Thermal and Molecular Mobility

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