The influence of low-melting-point alloy on the rheological properties of a polystyrene melt

The rheological behavior of polystyrene melts filled with different loading s of Sn-Pb alloy has been studied. The filled polystyrene melts showed a ps eudoplastic behavior, and the viscosity varied dramatically at the melting point of the alloy. The temperature dependence of the viscosity has been fo und to follow two separate Arrhenius equations for high and low temperature s, respectively. The presence of alloy filler was found to increase melt vi scosity below the melting point of the alloy, but decreased it on reaching the alloy melting point. The melt elasticity was found to decrease with inc rease of alloy concentration, and increase abruptly at the alloy melting po int. However, viscous flow was the dominant mechanism of deformation over t he entire range of temperature studied. (C) 2000 Kluwer Academic Publishers .