The Fluid Mechanics of Microdevices-The Freeman Scholar Lecture

Blending PVC with other polymers has proven to be a viable approach in developing higher performance flexible PVC-based materials with a potential for more extensive applications, traditionally dominated by rubbers and thermoplastic elastomers. Miscibility in polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/thermoplastic polyester polyurethane (TPU)/poly(ethylene-co-normal butyl acrylateco-carbon monoxide) (ENBACO) ternary polymer blends, was assessed by means of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis techniques. Experimental design was performed by using a software program called "ECHIP" that makes it possible to perform statistically designed experiments with a minimum number of trials. The results confirmed total miscibility in the composition range examined: 30% < %PVC < 60%, 0% < %TPU < 40% %ENBACO = 100 - (%PVC + %TPU) Because of the differences in the physical properties of polymer materials used to blend with PVC, research on the most suitable process parameters to achieve miscible blends without degrading them revealed a rather narrow processing window.