Aplicación de modelos matemáticos para el estudio de degradación térmica de polímeros

Abstract

The use of mathematical models in the field of education and training is becoming increasingly common. Specifically, in Materials Engineering area, where thermal analysis techniques widely contributes to study the materials thermal decomposition. The application of kinetic methods allows obtaining some parameters that are useful for predicting the behavior of polymers under certain temperature conditions. Polymeric materials are constantly subjected to degradation processes due to its processing, reuse and/or disposal, so that studies associated with thermal degradation of these materials are of particular interest. In this sense, the application of mathematical models for understanding the phenomena of thermal degradation of polymeric materials is useful for undergraduate and research students, MSc. and PhD respectively. Mathematical models can be based on the conversion degree (Friedman, Horowitz and Metzger, Van Krevelen, Coats and Redfern) or, based on the rate of heating measurement (Flynn y Wall). Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is an analytical technique which determines the weight loss as a function of temperature or time, allowing to associate specific changes such degradation processes. In this work, we applied different mathematical models to study the thermal degradation of polymeric materials with the main objective that students be able to understand the differences and similarities founded in the materials behavior depending on the mathematical model used.

Keywords

• Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA)
• Thermal degradation
• Conversion degree
• Heating rates