Development and Experimental Validation of Morphology Predictive Model for Compatibilized Ternary Polymer Blends I. Effect of Interfacial Tension

To evaluate the prediction reliability of conventional morphology predicting models, polypropylene (PP)/polyamide6 (PA6)/ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) (70/15/15) ternary polymer blends compatibilized with Maleic-anhydride grafted EPDM (EPDM-g-MA) were prepared through melt blending using a twin screw extruder (TSE). Different EPDM/EPDM-g-MA ratios i.e. 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100 were used to prepare the ternery blend PP/(EPDM-g-MA + EPDM)/PA6 samples. The effects of compatibilizer content on the microstructures and consequently mechanical properties of prepared ternary blends were studied. Direct microstructural observations were compared to the predictions of conventional phenomenological models including spreading coefficient, minimum relative free energy, and dynamic interfacial energy. A comparison depicted the relative inaccuracy of the existing models in predicting the morphology of the present ternary system due to the ignorance of some effective parameters and/or discomfit of model assumptions. A novel predictive model was developed considering parameters ignored in conventional models. A thorough investigation of the model’s validation results showed a reasonable agreement between model predictions and direct microstructural observations.