EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF FILLER SURFACE TREATMENTS.

The addition of fillers to plastics materials is a rapidly growing trend. Although the initial thrust in using filled plastics was to lower the cost of the composites, lately more emphasis has been placed on improving a composite's performance. Improved dimensional stability, heat distortion and stiffness can be obtained with the use of special fillers and special surface treatments. This paper shows how surface treatments reduce agglomeration, enable higher concentrations of fillers to be used, decrease mixing time and provide property improvements. Their effectiveness can be analyzed by rheological methods for small, particulate fillers and by ESCA for fibrous materials. Economic considerations are included.