Improvement of processing and mechanical properties by mixing two different polymers in the calendering process

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most used polymers all over the world. After polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), PVC is the most produced and used polymer in the world. Many different additives are used to improve the mechanical and processing properties of PVC. In this study, polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were used to increase machinability in the calendaring process. In this study, PVC and PE, PP, PMMA polymers were mixed in certain proportions and characterized in terms of thermal, morphological and mechanical aspects. Mixtures were prepared with the help of double-sided counter-rotating shafts. The prepared mixtures were made into films. The mixtures were prepared with PVC at different ratios (1%, 5%, 10%) and with constant rotational speeds (rear cylinder 3.5 rpm, front cylinder 4.5 rpm). The machine and amperage values of the prepared films during the mixing were examined and their filming properties were examined. Mechanical and thermal tests were applied for the films obtained from the calendaring process. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was used as thermal test. In the DSC analysis, the changes in the glass transition temperature (Tg) values were observed by examining the mixtures of the materials with each other. As the mechanical test, tensile test was applied and the changes in the strength tensile properties of the mixtures were observed. For the analytical method, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) was used. The effect of material ratios was investigated with FTIR.