Effect of mold temperature on the long-term viscoelastic behavior of polybutylene terepthalate

The effect of mold temperature variation during injection molding on the long-term viscoelastic behavior of polybutylene terepthalate (PBT) was studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and flexural creep tests. The time-temperature superposition (TTS) principle was applied to the experimental data and the master curves were created to predict their long-term behavior. The WLF and Arrhenius models were verified for the shift data in the investigating temperature range and the activation energies for the deformation process were calculated based on the Arrhenius equation. Further a four-element Burger model was applied to the creep results to represent the creep behavior of the PBT processed at two different mold temperatures and to better understand the deformation mechanism. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and density measurements were accomplished to characterize the process-dependent microstructures.