4.5 Article

Novel Method for Determination of Polymer-Solvent Interaction Parameter Using Mechanical Properties

Journal

ARABIAN JOURNAL FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Volume 47, Issue 9, Pages 11887-11897

Publisher

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s13369-022-06691-y

Keywords

Swelling elastomer; Hydrogels; Flory-Huggins parameter; Polymer-solvent interaction parameter; Mechanical properties

Funding

  1. Sultan Qaboos University
  2. Petroleum Development Oman
  3. NED University of Engineering and Technology

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This paper focuses on a novel method of estimating the polymer-fluid interaction parameter by swelling and mechanical testing. The results show that the parameter value decreases as swelling progresses, with a larger decrease in high-salinity solution compared to low-salinity solution.
Swelling elastomers swell when in contact with certain fluids and are used in different applications in oil drilling and bioengineering. Flory-Huggins polymer-fluid interaction parameter is an important factor that controls swelling. It is conventionally determined by chemical dissociation of the polymer, a difficult and time-consuming method. Current paper focuses on a novel and easier method of estimating this parameter through swelling and mechanical testing. Two different elastomers were kept in saline water of 0.6% and 12% concentration at 50 degrees C for a period of one month. Changes in mass, volume, density, and elastic and bulk moduli were recorded at different intervals. Shear modulus was used to determine chain density. Density, volume swelling ratio, molar volume, shear modulus, and average chain molecular weight values were used to determine. Both materials showed a decreasing trend in values as swelling progresses, as expected. Value of was higher in high-salinity brine, and larger decrease in value was observed in lower-salinity solution. For instance, in high salinity brine, a drop in chi value from 0.87 to 0.7 was observed for material-A, and a drop from 1.0 to 0.75 for material-B over the 30-day swelling period. In low salinity brine, chi-value decreased from 0.79 to 0.63 for material-A, and from 0.84 to 0.64 for material-B. This work is beneficial for engineers and scientists working on swellable elastomers in particular (petroleum drilling and development), and rubbers and polymers in general.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.5
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available