Microcellular Injection Molding of Biobased/Biodegradable Plastics
| Category | Publications |
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| Abstract | This report addresses the research experience gained through the International Research in Education and Engineering (IREE) program sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). By collaborating with the Microcellular Processing and Manufacturing Laboratory at the University of Toronto, Canada, we demonstrated how modification of polylactide (PLA) with some additives such as chain-extender, hyper branched polymer, and biodegradable poly(butylene adipateco- terephthalate) (PBAT) will improve the properties of PLA. The report presents several representative results obtained from the study on the PLA/chain-extender series. Finally, the report concludes by highlighting the extended benefits that this international collaboration has provided. |
| Contributor | Mourad Ouzzani
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| Bio | Srikanth Pilla is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, USA. Earlier he worked at S.C. Johnson and Son, Inc., where he participated in the invention of a home cleaning product and now holds a US provisional patent for the same. He received an MSc in Mechanical Engineering (2005) from the University of Toledo, USA, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering (2002) from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India. His research activities are in the areas of nanocomposites, reliability and probabilistic analysis, micromechanical modelling, and biobased and biodegradable composites. He has authored/coauthored eight journal articles, six refereed conference proceedings, and a book chapter in “Engineering Design Reliability Applications: For the Aerospace, Automotive and Ship Industries,” published by Taylor & Francis. George Auer is currently working towards a BSE in Mechanical Engineering at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society. He plans to continue his studies in either biomedical or materials engineering with an emphasis on tissue engineering and biomaterials. Shaoqin Gong received a BSE and MS degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University in 1991 and 1994, respectively. She received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor in 1999. After working for Henkel Corporation as a senior materials scientist for more than three years, she worked as an assistant scientist in the Polymer Engineering Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for three years. Since 2005, she has been an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. |
| Sponsored By | NSF CMMI-544729 |
| Cite this work | Researchers should cite this work as follows: Srikanth Pilla, George Auer and Shaoqin Gong, "Microcellular Injection Molding of Biobased/Biodegradable Plastics", Trip report presented at the NSF IREE 2007 Grantees Conference, October 30 - November 1, 2007, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana |
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