Generalized Dependence of the Viscosity of Particulate-Filled Polymer Composite Materials with Different Types of Structures

Models describing the rheological properties of particulate-filled polymer composite materials are analyzed from the point of view of their structure. A mathematical model relating the relative viscosity to the parameters of the disperse structure is proposed on the example of a model system based on low-density polyethylene containing glass microspheres. The rheological properties of particulate-filled composite materials are considered for the first time from the standpoint of the formation of a heterogeneity by particles of a dispersed filler in space and the construction of a polymer matrix in the free space in the form of three functional components (Θ, B, and M). The use of this approach in technological practice makes it possible to estimate the melt viscosity from the parameters of a given type of structure (dependent on the content of dispersed filler) of a particulate-filled polymer composite material.