**6. References**

268 Some Critical Issues for Injection Molding

Fig. 16. Morphology of 5vol%HDPE/WaxGNP-15 (20:80wt%) sample in the center.

mechanical properties in the resulting nanocomposites.

**5. Acknowledgment** 

Various properties of HDPE/GNP nanocomposites made by melt-extrusion and injection molding were explored and analyzed in this book chapter, including mechanical properties, crystallization behaviors, thermal stability, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity. Results show some unique features of these injection molded nanocomposites. First of all, HDPE/GNP nanocomposites exhibit anisotropic thermal and electrical conductivity, that is, in-plane thermal and electrical conductivity were found to be much higher than the through-plane conductivity. Higher in-plane thermal and electrical properties of these nanocomposites are on the account of the alignment of GNP platelets along the material flow direction during injection molding, which were verified by their morphology. Secondly, it was found that the morphology of injection molded nanocomposites varies from the edge to the center. GNP platelets exhibit strong preferential alignment at the edge where the shear forces under injection molding are maximum while they are randomly orientated in the center where the shear forces are minimum. Additionally, sever GNP aggregation was detected in the melt-extrusion and injection molded samples, which is due to the insufficient shear force attainable during the processing conditions to shear GNP platelets apart and to achieve a uniform GNP dispersion. Regardless of this disadvantage, the technique of melt-extrusion and injection molding still remains as the major processing method used for manufacturing thermoplastics in industry because of its design flexibility, low cost and labor, short cycle time and minimum scrap loss. In order to improve the dispersion of GNP in HDPE, a wax coating technique was reported in this book chapter. It is concluded that the dispersion of GNP in HDPE was dramatically enhanced due to the steric repulsive forces between wax coated GNP platelets, which leads to the better electrical and

The authors gratefully acknowledgment the support of the Michigan Economic Development Commission, 21st Century Jobs Fund for partial support of this research. And the generous

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