ANALYSIS OF THE PHASE-STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT DURING THE MELT MIXING OFPOLYMER BLENDS

The paper presents analysis of the phase structure development in poly mer blends, where a minor component is dispersed in the matrix consist ing of a major component, during the melt mixing. Problems of modellin g of the how field in mixing devices are briefly discussed. Relevant r esults of theoretical and experimental studies of the droplet breakup and coalescence are summarized. Theories dealing with the competition between droplet breakup and coalescence are discussed in detail. Their results are compared with experimentally determined dependences of th e size of dispersed droplets on mixing conditions, properties of the c omponents, and blend composition.