Rheological behavior of highly filled polymer melts

The rheological behavior of highly filled polymer melts has been examined. At concentrations near the maximum packing fraction, strain-dependent behavior was observed at strains as low as 1 percent. Selected surface treatments were shown to reduce particle agglomeration. This produced composite melts with lower viscosities and higher maximum loadings. While η* – ω plots provide information on the shear strength of the interparticle network, G′ – ω plots show evidence of phase separation.