Simultaneous flow enhancement of high-filled polyamide 66/glass fiber composites

In this work, we investigated the effects of the flow modifier addition on the rheological behavior and mechanical properties of high-filled polyamide 66 composites prepared from melt compounding. The flow modifiers were prepared from various amine monomers and fatty acids, and their structures were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The synthesized flow modifiers were added simultaneously during melt compounding. The presence of flow modifiers significantly reduced torque in neat polyamide 66 polymer and glass fiber-reinforced polyamide 66 composites, respectively, while the torque during compounding in composites with glass fiber contents of 50 wt% has decreased by approximately 12% after the addition of 1 phr of hexamethylene bis-stearamide indicating the simultaneous enhancement in flowability. The presence of the synthesized flow modifiers in matrix polymers improves flowability of the composites during injection molding without compromising the mechanical properties. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.