Study on the Effects of Vibration Force Field on the Mixing and Structural Properties of PLA/PBS/EGMA Blends

This study investigates the effects of a vibration force field on the mixing and structural properties of polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), and ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymer (EGMA) blends. A balanced triple-screw dynamic extrusion process was utilized to prepare PLA/PBS/EGMA composites under various vibration parameters, specifically amplitude and frequency. The results indicate that the introduction of a vibration force field significantly enhances the dispersion of the PLA/PBS/EGMA blend, leading to improved mechanical properties, thermal stability, and crystallization behavior. When the vibration frequency was 6 Hz and the amplitude was 1.0 mm, the impact strength increased from the steady-state value of 70.86 KJ/m2 to 88.21 KJ/m2. When the amplitude was 0.4 mm and the frequency was 10 Hz, the impact strength reached 81.86 KJ/m2. The orthogonal experimental design and entropy method analysis revealed that vibration frequency and amplitude play a dominant role in optimizing mechanical performance, whereas processing temperature and rotor speed exhibit minimal impact. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis confirmed that the vibration force field reduces phase separation, promoting a finer and more homogeneous dispersion of PBS and EGMA within the PLA matrix. Additionally, TGA and DTG curves suggest that when the vibration amplitude and frequency are lower than specific thresholds, the thermal stability of the blend deteriorates. In contrast, when they exceed those thresholds, thermal stability improves. For instance, with an amplitude of 1.0 mm, the initial degradation temperature (T5) climbs from 328.6 °C to 333.7 °C. At a frequency of 10 Hz, T5 reaches 333.1 °C. These findings provide theoretical support for the application of vibration-assisted extrusion in the development of high-performance biodegradable polymer blends.