Polymer Compounding for Developing Advanced Materials

Compounding of polymers comprises the influences of the polymers, additives, and fillers on the morphology developed based on the rheology of the melts, together with mechanisms involved during the melt mixing process. Development of morphology in the polymer system is very crucial to establish the desire physical properties. A team at IIT Delhi is developing novel polymer compounds with specific properties relevant to their intended subsequent applications. Most compounding is done on twin-screw extruders with co-rotating screw profile with various diameters and L/D as well as mixing elements. Polymer nanocomposites are the one of the potential area of research for the development of polymer compounds with multifunctional properties. Dispersion and distribution of another polymer, micro and nano fillers are considered to be key step and can be achieved by various compounding techniques.

Polymer blends	Polymer Composites	Polymer Nanocomposites
Thermoplastics + Elastomers	Thermoplastics + Fillers	Thermoplastics + Nanoclay
Thermoplastics + Engineering plastics	Thermoplastics + Short Fibers	Thermoplastics + Nanotubes
Thermoplastics + Biopolymers	(Glass fiber, Natural fibers)	Polymer blends + Nano fillers
Thermoplastics + Special polymers	Thermoplastics + Long Fibers

The aforesaid materials were developed with high strength, toughness along with other value added properties either to replace the metal based components or for better processability or to cater special application demand.

Pilot scale Co-rotating twin screw and micro-compounder with conical twin screw at IITD.

Research Activities on Polymer Processing and Rheology
Anup K. Ghosh
Centre for Polymer Science and Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India.
e-mail: anupkghosh@gmail.com