Introduction
polymer and glass have very different particle sizes (glass powder <44 micron, polymer ~5mm diameter) these particles will not mix evenly unless the polymer melts
Safety
- small particle size of glass powder poses a health hazard-- operate in fume hood if possible, wear safety glasses and respirator.
Equipment or Bill of Materials
- MG200 recycled soda-lime glass powder, by Vitro Minerals
- crushed polypropylene stored in a closed, airtight plastic bag
- respirator
- ANSI Z87.1+ certified safety glasses with side shield
- fume hood
- 2 cups for more careful massing of samples
- several containers with closable lids (30-100 ml volume)
- spoon for adding small amounts of glass powder
Calibration & Tolerances
- zero balance w/ empty container before each measurement
- tolerance of MyWeigh iM01 balance is 1000+/- 0.01 grams
- sample mass should fall within a tolerance of +/- 0.1g, preferrably within 0.01 or 0.02 for more precision
Operation & Procedure
- Ask Dr. Pearce for swipe access to DOW 901 (OSHE lab) if you don't already have access
- turn on fume hood MTU DOW 017 in DOW 901
- prepare sample compositions, starting with 100% polypropylene and increasing glass content in increments of 10% by weight, measured on a MyWeigh iM01 balance
- use spoon to scoop glass powder into cup, carefully measure out correct mass of glass powder into storage container on balance
- make sure to zero the balance with empty container before each measurement
- store measured glass for each composition in a correctly labeled plastic container with closed lid
- if containers of proper size are in short supply, use multiple smaller containers and label correctly
- email Dr. Paul Fraley (pdfraley@mtu.edu)
- take this heat treat safety training
- furnace used: