CHM Updated 453 PQ

CHEM 453 2021/2022 past questions
1a. Define fibre
Fibre is a natural or manmade substance that is significantly longer than it is wide.
1b. characteristics of fibre
1. Fibre must be strong and flexible

2. Fibre must be elastic enough to withstand strain
3. All fibre needs to be able to absorb moisture for comfort in wearing
4. It must be thick
1c. Give suitable diagrams, describe any two of the following techniques of converting bulk
polymers to fibres.
i. Dry spinning
ii. Wet spinning
iii. Melt spinning
2a. Define draw ratio and explain the fibre drawing process.
Draw ratio can be defined as the ratio of the speed.
The drawing process consists essentially of the stretching of the filament by feeding at low
speed and drawing off at high speed.
2b. Name 5 novel uses of polymers.
1. Bioengineering
2. Aerospace industry
3. Military hardware
4. Medical use
2c. what are the basic difference between dry and wet spinning on one hand and melt
spinning on the other hand.
3a. Differences between thermo plastic and thermo setting polymers.
Thermoplastic: it is reversible provided the temperature of melting is not above the

degeneration temperature while
Thermosetting: when heat is applied, it melt cannot go back to its original shape, it transforms
totally to another form/another material entirely.
3b. briefly outline the main polymer processing techniques.
1. Deformation of polymer melt

2. Deformation of suspension
3. Deformation of solution
4. Deformation of polymer in rubbery state.
5. Deformation of low molecular weight polymer
6. Machining operations.
3c. with the aid of well labeled sketch, explain the principles of operation of a melt
processing extruder. (Refer to material)
4a. write short note on any three of the following factors affecting polymer processing.
i. Hygroscopic nature of the polymer

ii. Granule characteristics
iii. Thermal properties that influence the melting of polymers
iv. Flow properties of polymer melt
Hygroscopic behavior: It is the water moisture content that affects polymer processing. It is
essential that polymer compounds shall be free from water and other low boiling solvent.
Granule characteristics: It was a common practice to extrude and mold granules of varying
shapes and size that have been obtain by breaking up sheets between rotating and stationary
cutting blades. It was found that the use of granules of more regular shape and even size can lead
to much higher throughput rate in extruders and much more even heating and hence better
control in flow properties in all of the processes.
Thermal properties: Before attempting to process any polymer compound, the thermal stability
should be considered.
i. How stable at elevated temperature when oxygen is absent

ii. How stable in the absence of CO2
iii. If the product is unstable, how are the polymer properties affected.
Flow properties: The flow properties of polymer melt are said to be least complex and should
be expected when one is trying to deform variously entangled long chain molecules.
4b. what are the thermal stability characteristics of a polymer to be considered before melt
processing.
i. How stable it is at elevated temperature when oxygen is absent.

ii. How stable it is when CO2 is absent
iii. If the product is unstable, how are the polymer properties affected.
iv. Is degradation catalyzed by another material with which the polymer might come in
contact with?
v. Is degradation catalyzed by any material which could be present during the
processing?
4c. Explain the effect of orientation of polymer chains during processing.
Orientation is the alignment of molecules to have a residue orientation, to give material

particular properties along a particular direction.
5a. using appropriate drawing, discuss a typical compression molding technique of

thermosetting a polymer. (Refer to material)
5b. what are the assumptions made in describing the flow behavior of the thermosetting
material.
i. Rheological simplifications.
ii. Isotropic behavior
iii. Constant viscosity
iv. No curing during flow
v. Negligible thermal effect
vi. No slip at interfaces.
5c. show how polymer modulus or resistance to deformation affects the polymer processing
in the rubbery state.
1. Extrusion: A polymer with a higher modulus in the rubbery state will require more force to be
extruded. This can impact the extrusion process by requiring higher pressure and affecting the
throughput of the extruder.
2. Molding: deform extensively under stress. The modulus of the polymer plays a crucial role in
determining how the material behaves during various processing methods:
When molding rubbery polymers, a higher modulus can lead to higher mold filling pressures,
affecting the flow behavior and potentially leading to longer cycle times.
3. Calendering: In calendering, where rubber sheets are formed using a set of rollers, a higher
modulus polymer will resist deformation more, potentially requiring adjustments to roller gaps
and processing conditions.
4. Blow Molding: Higher modulus polymers might be less suitable for blow molding due to their
reduced ability to stretch and expand when subjected to the blowing process.
5. Thermoforming: In thermoforming processes, higher modulus polymers might have more

limited formability and might require higher temperatures to achieve desired deformation.
6. Coating and Lamination: Polymers with higher moduli might be less conformable during
coating and lamination processes, impacting the uniformity and quality of the coated or
laminated layers.

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CHEM 453 2021/2022 past questions

1a. Define fibre

Fibre is a natural or manmade substance that is significantly longer than it is wide.

1b. characteristics of fibre

1. Fibre must be strong and flexible

Draw ratio can be defined as the ratio of the speed.

2b. Name 5 novel uses of polymers.

3a. Differences between thermo plastic and thermo setting polymers.

Thermoplastic: it is reversible provided the temperature of melting is not above the

1. Deformation of polymer melt

i. Hygroscopic nature of the polymer

i. How stable at elevated temperature when oxygen is absent

i. How stable it is at elevated temperature when oxygen is absent.

Orientation is the alignment of molecules to have a residue orientation, to give material

5a. using appropriate drawing, discuss a typical compression molding technique of

5. Thermoforming: In thermoforming processes, higher modulus polymers might have more

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