Investigation of the rheological properties of short glass fiber-filled polypropylene in extensional flow

The behavior of short glass fiber–polypropylene suspensions in extensional flow was investigated using three different commercial instruments: the SER wind-up drums geometry (Extensional Rheology System) with a strain-controlled rotational rheometer, a Meissner-type rheometer (RME), and the Rheotens. Results from uniaxial tensile testing have been compared with data previously obtained using a planar slit die with a hyperbolic entrance. The effect of three initial fiber orientations was investigated: planar random, fully aligned in the stretching flow direction and perpendicular to it. The elongational viscosity increased with fiber content and was larger for fibers initially oriented in the stretching direction. The behavior at low elongational rates showed differences among the various experimental setups, which are partly explained by preshearing history and nonhomogenous strain rates. However, at moderate and high rates, the results are comparable, and the behavior is strain thinning. Finally, a new constitutive equation for fibers suspended into a fluid obeying the Carreau model is used to predict the elongational viscosity, and the predictions are in good agreement with the experimental data.