Temperature and Crystallinity Profiles Generated in a Polycaprolactone/Starch Blend Under Different Cooling Conditions

R. A. RUSECKAITE; P.M. STEFANI; V.P. CYRAS; J. KENNY; A. VAZQUEZ

JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE

wiley

Año: 2001 vol. 82 p. 3275 - 3283

0021-8995

This work concerns the numerical simulation of the temperature profiles and the degree of crystallinity through the thickness of a part made froma commercial biodegradable material based on caprolactone and starch (Mater-Bi Z), as a function of the cooling conditions from the melt. The crystallization kinetics during cooling conditions was evaluated experimentally by calorimetry and the Kamal–Chu equation was used to describe the degree of crystallinity developed during constant cooling rate experiments. This equation coupled with the thermal energy equation, through a heat source term, described the heat generated during crystallization of the polymer. The numerical solution of the system of differential equations was obtained using an implicit finite-difference method. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 3275–3283, 2001