SPbPU and RAS: Device for plastic production from polymer and fiber

2022: Announcement of Polymer and Fiber Plastic Device

Scientists and students of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Peter the Great together with experts on polymer materials of the Institute of High Molecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences within the framework of the Priority 2030 program created and patented a device (No. 2022131419) with which you can get an unusual plastic. According to the inventors, this material can be used in any industry, displacing metals, wood and other materials used. This was announced on December 23, 2022 by representatives of SPBPU.

Polymer and Fiber Plastic Production Device

Plastic production has been reported to occur by mixing polymer and fiber. The polymer in powder form is electrically charged, then converted into pseudo-liquid through which fibers are passed. Thus, particles of powder stick the fibers and penetrate between them, then the powder melts, turning into a thick liquid, similar to honey, which then hardens and produces a composite, at the output in the form of granules.

A composite is a multicomponent material. For example, reinforced concrete. It consists of iron and concrete, respectively. We created a composite very close in physical properties to reinforced concrete, consisting of a polymer, roughly speaking from plastic, and carbon fibers. The plastic in the composite is responsible for compression, and the fibers for stretching. Standard technologies allow you to add fibers that are cut into small pieces, a fraction of millimeters long - 300 microns or even less - this is done to distribute evenly across the material. We managed to increase the length of the fibers to a few millimeters, thereby giving the material an optimal strength comparable to metals. shared Igor Radchenko, leading researcher at the Biomechanics and Medical Engineering Scientific and Educational Center of the Higher School of Theoretical Mechanics and Mathematical Physics, Physicomechanical Institute of SPBPU

Plastic made of polymer and fiber

The finished product from the obtained composite can be produced by various methods, including convenient and technological, with the help of which almost all surrounding plastic products are obtained from children's toys to parts of machines and mechanisms - by injection molding and injection molding. Polytechnic scientists also convert pellets into filament - a thread for 3D printing. As of December 2022, there are already several test parts - small blades printed from the created material on a 3D printer. Using the obtained copies, specialists describe and measure the physical characteristics of the composite.

According to scientists, a properly prepared mixture of plastic and fiber allows you to obtain optimal characteristics: heat resistance, strength, durability, lightness, as well as the ability to tolerate ultraviolet rays, radiation and chemical exposure.

Polymer and Fiber Plastic Production Device

{{quote 'author
= told Igor Radchenko' From the point of view of economic benefit, if compared with metal, then the key period here will be the operational period. Very often metals are very expensive to maintain and repair, and the plastic that we received will practically not have to be repaired. Another factor is the availability of low circulation. When using metal, it is profitable to make only a large number of serial parts, and if you want to do something differently, change something - you need to rebuild many machines, change technological processes, which is very long and expensive. Different prototypes and even small series can be quickly made from our composite by using additive technologies and, as a result, easily reconfiguring the equipment used.}}

Benefits from this material, according to scientists, should receive and. medicine One of the most popular use cases artificial limbs is implants. Due to its light weight and physical properties, an exact copy of human bones can be made from the composite.

But other industries will not be left out either. According to experts, the material can be used in almost any field: mechanical engineering, aircraft engineering, shipbuilding, gas and oil industry, to create space equipment and equipment for general and special purposes.

The developers say that about 10 scientists and students worked on the device for about a year. The work was carried out in tandem of specialists in the field of mathematical modeling of the Polytechnic Institute and experts on polymer materials of the Institute of High Molecular Compounds of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Of great importance, according to Olga Loboda, director of the Biomechanics and Medical Engineering Scientific and Educational Center, associate professor, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, was played by the fact that the development was carried out within the framework of the Priority 2030 program.

The scientific tandem continues to optimize the device and the resulting material. In the future, scientists intend to transfer their developments to a large industry for the manufacture of a high-tech product from plastic of the future.