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Improving 3D Printability and Functional Performance of Polyethylene across Visible and IR Spectrums through IR Transparent Pigmentation and Polyolefin Additives
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- Author / Creator
- Ali, Mehnab
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Polyolefin thermoplastics form a significant fraction of the world scale production of plastics and are of high interest due to their toughness, low cost, good chemical resistance and excellent IR properties. Two grades of PE: Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) and High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE). LLDPE and HDPE have a huge number of applications in a diverse range of areas such as radiative passive heating and cooling, infrared (IR) and visible camouflage, additive manufacturing, defense sector and many more. However, LLDPE faces the challenge of being visibly semi-transparent, while HDPE exhibits severe warpage during 3D printing. This dissertation aims to address these challenges and enhance the performance of PE for expanded applications in IR camouflage and radiative passive heating and cooling applications. Chapter one focuses on resolving the semi-transparency issue of LLDPE by pigmenting the material using a simple and easier compounding method while making sure to maintain its highly desirable IR transparency. A comprehensive FTIR, UV-VIS, mechanical testing, and IR analysis is implemented to confirm the successful achievement of a visibly opaque LLDPE material without compromising its exceptional IR transparency. This breakthrough enables the utilization of LLDPE in various applications, including radiative passive heating and cooling, IR and visible camouflage, and IR shielding applications. Chapter two addresses the warpage challenges experienced during the 3D printing of HDPE. Incorporation of 10 wt% LLDPE into HDPE helps reduce crystallinity and mitigate stresses during 3D printing, by optimizing printing parameters and exploring different print bed options. Through this approach, this research provides a successful solution to provide significant reduction in warpage for 3D printing of HDPE leading to its expansion of potential applications in additive manufacturing. Overall, this thesis dissertation highlights the excellence of PE as a material, the challenges it faces and addresses those challenges. Through custom compounding of PE, we have successfully produced PE based metamaterials which have high visible opacity, are available in diverse range of colors and still maintain their high IR transparency properties. HDPE based grades of PE can be successfully 3D printed which pave the way for 3D printing functionality of these metamaterials which can further be drawn into fibers to make fabrics for civilian and military camouflage and radiative heating/cooling applications.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Additive manufacturing
- HDPE
- LDPE
- Fused filament fabrication
- polyethylene printing
- warpage
- polymer blends
- shrinkage
- stresses
- Pigmentation
- Compounding LLDPE
- polymer composites
- FTIR
- UV-VIS
- IR analysis
- IR transparency
- IR reflectance
- IR emittance
- Mechanical characterization
- Tensile strength
- Young’s modulus
- Elongation at break
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- Graduation date
- Fall 2023
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Master of Science
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.