Abstract
When processing particular polymers, it may be necessary to increase the molecular weight, for example, during polymer recycling or foaming. Chemical additives such as chain extenders (CE) are often used to build up the molecular weight during reactive extrusion. One issue of chain extenders, however, is that they can cause gelation or crosslinking of the polymer during processes with long residence times. This can lead to strong process fluctuations, undesired process shutdowns due to uncontrollable torque and pressure fluctuations and finally consistent material quality cannot be guaranteed. To measure and understand the reactivity between the polymer and the CE a rheological test can help. However, the standard gel point evaluation used for thermosets by examining the point of intersection of storage- and loss modules is not suitable, as this method is frequency-dependent. This study uses a multiwave rheology test to identify the gel-point more reliably. Both evaluation methods were compared on a polyamide 12 system, which is modified with an industrially relevant chain extender. The results show that the multiwave test can be applied on a chemical modified thermoplastic system and that the material system indicates a general tendency to crosslink. The frequency-independent gel-point evaluation shows that the gel-point itself is dependent on the processing temperature. Finally, it was possible to detect undesired side reactions, which are not recognizable with the standard testing method. Both findings are directly relevant for the reactive extrusion process and help to understand the mechanism of gelation.