Entanglement relaxation time of polyethylene melts from high-frequency rheometry in the mega-hertz range)

The determination of relevant rheological properties and parameters in a very broad frequency range can be achieved for a number of thermoplastic polymers, for example, polystyrene, by applying the time-temperature-superposition principle. In contrast, polyethylene can only be explored rheologically in a limited frequency range, due to its fast crystallization below the crystallization temperature and its weak viscosity temperature-dependence. In this paper, various commercially available polydisperse and narrowly distributed linear and branched polyethylenes and ethylene-vinylacetate-copolymers were characterized. A piezoelectric-and a new quartz (crystal resonator) rheometer (QR) with an extended frequency range were utilized for the characterization. Introduction of high frequency rheological techniques and implementation of these new measurement methods are shown. For the first time, the entanglement relaxation time in the higher MHz frequency range was determined by applying the QR-technique and compared with those obtained by an alternative experimental method and numerical calculations. (C) 2017 The Society of Rheology.