| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1397796 | European Polymer Journal | 2016 | 19 Pages |
•Unique in-situ SAXS study during film blowing of a series of LLDPE performed.•Effect of processing conditions and material on morphological features investigated.•BUR influences crystallinity and lamellar thickness evolution, TUR orientation.•Crystallinity increases of 50% above frost line due to secondary crystallization.•Validation of the on-line study using ex-situ WAXD/SAXS.
The on-line morphological development during film blowing of 2 different linear low density polyethylenes (LLDPEs) and a blend of LLDPE with low density polyethylene (LDPE) has been investigated, for the first time, using synchrotron Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). The processing conditions, blow-up ratio and take-up ratio, have been varied and the resulting lamellar thickness, linear crystallinity and orientation evolution in machine direction is obtained from a detailed analysis of SAXS data. Ex-situ SAXS and wide angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD) confirmed the effect of molecular structure and composition on structure evolution observed in the on-line experiments. The results obtained provide a valuable set of data for the understanding of the film blowing process and can be used to extend and improve numerical model.
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