Abstract
The mechanical properties of EMAA copolymer are dependent upon the thermal spray processing parameters. The parameters determine coating temperatures which, in turn, affects the microstructure. If the deposition temperature is too low, (104 °C for PFl 13 and 160 °C for PFl 11) coatings have low strengths and low energy to break values. Increased coating temperatures allow the particles to fully coalesce resulting in maximized strength and elongation to break. However, at 271 °C, PFl 11 had visible porosity which decreased both strength and elastic modulus. Pigment acts as reinforcement in the sense that the modulus increased but the elongation to break decreased, thus reducing the energy to break. Water quenching reduces the elastic modulus and yield strength, but increases the elongation to break for both EMAA formulations. The mechanical properties of post consumer commingled plastic and PCCP / EMMA blends improved if the recycled plastic was pre-processed by melt-compounding. Melt compounding increased the strength and toughness by improving the compatibility among the various polymer constituents. The addition of PCCP increases the modulus and yield strength of ethylene methaciylic acid copolymer.
