Plastic Technology

Technology's Surrogate

by Joyce Tsai

Joyce Tsai. “Technology’s Surrogate: László Moholy-Nagy’s Late Paintings.” In László Moholy-Nagy, edited by Max Hollein and Ingrid Pfeiffer. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 2009.

Troubleshooting of mother liquor adsorption tower in HDPE slurry process

by SUBHASISH MITRA

This article aims at providing some insight to the commonly faced fouling problems in the adsorption tower of mother... more This article aims at providing some insight to the commonly faced fouling problems in the adsorption tower of mother liquor recovery section in low pressure slurry process of high density polyethylene (HDPE) manufacturing.

Blends of HDPE wastes: Study of properties

by Alberto Rossa

Co-authored with: Miguel Sánchez-Soto, José Gámez-Pérez / Centre Catalá del Plastic / Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya.

Magazine: Waste Management
Volume 28, Issue 12, December 2008, Pages 2565-2573

In this work we have analysed the properties of blends of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) filled with talc.... more In this work we have analysed the properties of blends of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) filled with talc. We have used two kinds of polymer matrices. The first one came entirely from ground injection moulded parts whereas the second was bimodal, incor- porating 80% of the previous HDPE and 20% of recycled HDPE coming from bottles. We have also used two kinds of commercial talc characterized by a medium particle size of 2 lm and 10 lm, respectively. The amount of talc added to both matrices weighed of 10% and 20%. With regards to the mechanical properties of the analysed composites, greater values of Young’s modulus and break stresses were found using a smaller particle size and higher talc content. On the other hand, the combination of the two HDPEs with very different viscosities produced a notable increase in the strain at break and in the absorbed energy; both measured at high and low strain rates. Despite the differences in viscosities between the two HDPEs, we did not observe separation of phases during either the processing or testing. Under impact loading, the higher energy absorption in the composites was observed when the finest talc grade with a 10% content weight was added to the bimodal matrix.

Study of the interface behaviour between MABS/TPU bi-layer structures obtained through over moulding

by Alberto Rossa

Co-authored with: M. Sánchez-Soto, S. Illescas, M. Ll. Maspoch, published in "Materials & Design", 30 (2009), 3979-3988

The strength of adhesion between two over-moulded polymers, methylmethacrylate–butadiene–styrene copolymer (MABS) and... more The strength of adhesion between two over-moulded polymers, methylmethacrylate–butadiene–styrene copolymer (MABS) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that constitute a bi-component laminar system has been the subject of study. Results showed that at the bi-layer interface the adhesive fracture tough- ness increases as temperature and surface roughness are increased. Roughness has been demonstrated to be the most important parameter defining adhesion strength and failure. With the increase of roughness the failure was observed to change from adhesive towards cohesive type. An increase in either the temperature or the pressure applied to the samples caused a rise in adhesion energy. However, pressure seemed to have a minor effect in comparison to temperature. Significant increments in adhesion were obtained after applying the corona discharge treatment (CDT) to the attaching surfaces resulting in adhesion strengths almost double those of non-treated systems.

Ensayo de rayado (scratch-test) de los componentes bicapa rígido-flexibles usados en el diseño de electrodomésticos y herramientas tipo "soft-touch" (asas de agarre cómodo).

by Alberto Rossa

Co-autoría con: Francisco González-Madariaga (UdeG) y Miguel. Sánchez-Soto (UPC), publicado en Revista del Doctorado Interinstitucional en Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo, Número 5, Diciembre 2008

Se han realizado ensayos de rayado como parte de una completa caracterización de una estructura polimérica bicapa... more Se han realizado ensayos de rayado como parte de una completa caracterización de una estructura polimérica bicapa rífido-flexible utilizada en los mangos o asas de herramientas y electrodomésticos. El objetivo del estudio es conocer el comportamiento y características de estas estructuras para mejorar el diseño y desempeño de estas conformaciones en el diseño y desarrollo de productos.

Estrategia de diseño basada en nuevos materiales

by Alberto Rossa

Co-autoría con Francisco J. González Madariaga, Ponencia magistral en Encuentro Internacional de Escuelas de Diseño, La Habana 2009

¿Que tienen en común los productos de compañías tan diferentes como los productos de Apple, Nike, Nokia o BMW?more ¿Que tienen en común los productos de compañías tan diferentes como los productos de Apple, Nike, Nokia o BMW?
Bueno, pues además de ser líderes en sus diferentes segmentos de mercado, estas compañías están ahora desarrollando productos con un alto grado de innovación. De hecho, todas ellas están creando sus productos con una nueva metodología de diseño conocida como “innovation driven by desgin”, que traducida al castellano sería “Innovación dirigida por diseño”.
El principio de esta metodología de diseño es la de crear experiencias asociadas a cada producto (Nathan, 2008), siendo estas experiencias intensas y de fácil recordación. Y es aquí que para lograr esas experiencias y sensaciones en el uso de los productos se recurre al uso de nuevos materiales, desarrollados en muchos de los casos especialmente para ser aplicados a productos específicos.