A Mechanistic Model Describing the Degradation of Polymers |
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Authors: | Ramachandran Mahadevan Lloyd Smith |
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Institution: | (1) School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA |
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Abstract: | This study examined the cooperative effects of diffusion and reaction on the degradation of a polymer. The work was intended
to describe bulk degradation processes, where the polymer volume remains nearly constant. Test coupons made from poly (2-ethyl
2-oxazoline) were immersed in water for controlled durations. The coupons were weighed before and after immersion in the wet
and dried condition. The coupons were observed to gain weight for short immersion durations. At longer durations the weight
change became negative as the solvent reacted with and dissolved the polymer. An average solvent concentration was found from
the weight measurements. Fick’s law was used to express the increase in concentration while a first order reaction law was
used to represent the decrease in concentration of the solvent. The competing changes in concentration were combined from
which the net solvent concentration at any given time was obtained. The model was compared with the experimental measurements
using coupons of various thicknesses. The model was found to describe the observed polymer degradation in water including
thickness effects. |
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Keywords: | Degradation Diffusion Reaction |
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