Effect of Coupling Agents and Particle Size on Mechanical Performance of Polyethylene Composites Comprising Wollastonite Micro-Fibres

2007 ◽  
Vol 334-335 ◽  
pp. 265-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Wen Yuan ◽  
Debes Bhattacharyya ◽  
Allan J. Easteal

The usefulness of rotational moulding (rotomoulding) as a polymer processing technique is often limited by the selection of polymers, which in most cases happens to be polyethylene (PE). In the present study, PE polyethylene was blended with wollastonite microfibres and maleated polyethylene (as a coupling agent) with the purpose of developing an improved material for rotational moulding. The incorporation of wollastonite fibres without any coupling agent improved the tensile strength, but showed a reduction in impact strength. As expected, the most significant enhancement due to wollastonite was in the tensile modulus.. The addition of a coupling agent improved both the impact strength and the processability, especially when wollastonite was coated with aminosilane. Scanning electron microscopy revealed good adhesion between the coated fibre reinforcement and the polyethylene matrix at the fracture surface.

2007 ◽  
Vol 21 (07) ◽  
pp. 1059-1066 ◽  
Author(s):  
XIAOWEN YUAN ◽  
ALLAN J. EASTEAL ◽  
DEBES BHATTACHARYYA

This paper describes the development of a new processing technology for rotational moulding of wollastonite microfibre (WE) reinforced polyethylene (PE). Manufacturing wollastonite-polyethylene composites involved blending, compounding by extrusion, and granulating prior to rotational moulding. The properties of the resulting composites were characterised by tensile and impact strength measurements. The results show that tensile strength increases monotonically with the addition of wollastonite fibres, but impact strength is decreased. In addition, the processability is also decreased after adding more than 12 vol% WE because of increased viscosity. The effects of a coupling agent, maleated polyethylene (MAPE), on the mechanical performance and processability were also investigated. SEM analysis reveals good adhesion between the fibre reinforcements and polyethylene matrix at the fracture surface with the addition of MAPE. It is proposed that fillers with small particles with high aspect ratio (such as wollastonite) provide a large interfacial area between the filler and the polymer matrix, and may influence the mobility of the molecular chains.


2017 ◽  
Vol 727 ◽  
pp. 447-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Dai ◽  
Hua Yan ◽  
Jian Jian Yang ◽  
Jun Jun Guo

To evaluate the aging behavior of high density polyethylene (HDPE) under an artificial accelerated environment, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to establish a non-dimensional expression Z from a data set of multiple degradation parameters of HDPE. In this study, HDPE samples were exposed to the accelerated thermal oxidative environment for different time intervals up to 64 days. The results showed that the combined evaluating parameter Z was characterized by three-stage changes. The combined evaluating parameter Z increased quickly in the first 16 days of exposure and then leveled off. After 40 days, it began to increase again. Among the 10 degradation parameters, branching degree, carbonyl index and hydroxyl index are strongly associated. The tensile modulus is highly correlated with the impact strength. The tensile strength, tensile modulus and impact strength are negatively correlated with the crystallinity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 883 ◽  
pp. 75-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nireeksha Karode ◽  
Laurence Fitzhenry ◽  
Siobhán Matthews ◽  
Philip Walsh ◽  
Austin Coffey

Medical tubing used in minimally invasive devices presents a number of design considerations depending on the material used, design requirements (such as sufficient stiffness, flexibility and biocompatibility) and processing conditions. Currently, manufacturing industries adopt co-extrusion systems to meet design specifications, by using multilayer configuration leading to higher cost per device and increased complexity. This paper investigates the mechanical performance of nanocomposites using supercritical carbon dioxide assisted polymer processing technique. The use of innovative medical compounds such as PEBAX graphene nanocomposites have resulted in measurable improvements in mechanical properties. This study also presents the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide on the mechanical and physical properties of the polymer matrix. The mechanical properties have been investigated using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and mechanical tensile test, where sufficient reinforcement was observed depending on the composition of graphene within PEBAX matrix. ATR-FTIR was used to further analyze the effect of supercritical carbon dioxide and interactions within the polymer composite matrix.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Gunturu Bujjibabu ◽  
Vemulapalli Chittaranjan Das ◽  
Malkapuram Ramakrishna ◽  
Konduru Nagarjuna

Banana/Coir fiber reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites was formulated by using twin screw extruder and injection molding machine. Specimens were prepared untreated and treated B/C Hybrid composites with 4% and 8% of MA-g-PP to increase its compatibility with the polypropylene matrix. Both the without MA-g-PP and with MA-g-PP B/C hybrid composites was utilized and three levels of B/C fiber loadings 15/5, 10/10 and 5/15 % were used during manufacturing of B/C reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites. In this work mechanical performance (tensile, flexural and impact strengths) of untreated and treated (coupling agent) with 4% and 8% of MA-g-PP B/C fibers reinforced polypropylene hybrid composite have been investigated. Treated with MA-g-PP B/C fibers reinforced specimens explored better mechanical properties compared to untreated B/C fibers reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites. Mechanical tests represents that tensile, flexural and impact strength increases with increase in concentration of coupling agent compared to without coupling agent MA-g-PP hybrid composites . B/C fibers reinforced polymer composites exhibited higher tensile, flexural and impact strength at 5% of Banana fiber, 15% of fiber Coir in the presence of 8% of MA-g-PP compared to 4% of MA-g-PP and untreated hybrid composites. The percentage of water absorption in the B/C fibers reinforced polypropylene hybrid composites resisted due to the presence of coupling agent MA-g-PP and thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) also has done.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Kit Chee ◽  
Nor Azowa Ibrahim ◽  
Norhazlin Zainuddin ◽  
Mohd Faizal Abd Rahman ◽  
Buong Woei Chieng

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) blends were prepared via melt blending technique. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was added as reactive compatibilizer to improve the interfacial adhesion between immiscible phases of PLA and PCL matrices. Tensile test revealed that optimum in elongation at break of approximately 327% achieved when GMA loading was up to 3wt%. Slight drop in tensile strength and tensile modulus at optimum ratio suggested that the blends were tuned to be deformable. Flexural studies showed slight drop in flexural strength and modulus when GMA wt% increases as a result of improved flexibility by finer dispersion of PCL in PLA matrix. Besides, incorporation of GMA in the blends remarkably improved the impact strength. Highest impact strength was achieved (160% compared to pure PLA/PCL blend) when GMA loading was up to 3 wt%. SEM analysis revealed improved interfacial adhesion between PLA/PCL blends in the presence of GMA. Finer dispersion and smooth surface of the specimens were noted as GMA loading increases, indicating that addition of GMA eventually improved the interfacial compatibility of the nonmiscible blend.


BioResources ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 7671-7686
Author(s):  
Young-Rok Seo ◽  
Sang-U Bae ◽  
Birm-June Kim ◽  
Min Lee ◽  
Qinglin Wu

Waste wood-plastic composite (WPC) was used in this work as a raw material to produce recycled WPCs reinforced with carbon fiber and nanoclay. To evaluate the synergistic effects of carbon fiber and nanoclay, various performances (i.e., microstrucural, mechanical, thermal, water absorption, and electrical properties) were investigated. Scanning electron micrographs and X-ray diffraction analysis of the fillers (carbon fiber and nanoclay) present in the recycled WPCs showed that the nanoclays were properly intercalated when filled with carbon fibers. According to mechanical property analysis, hybrid incorporation of carbon fibers and nanoclays improved impact strength, tensile strength, and flexural strength. However, further incorporation of nanoclays reduced the impact strength and did not improve the tensile modulus or the flexural modulus. The carbon fibers present in the recycled WPCs improved the electrical conductivity of the composites, despite the various fillers that interfered with their electrical conduction. In addition, carbon fibers and nanoclays were mixed into the recycled WPCs to improve the thermal stability of the composites. Finally, the presence of nanoclays in recycled WPCs led to increased water uptake of the composites.


Author(s):  
Albert Hernandez-Estrada ◽  
Jörg Müssig ◽  
Mark Hughes

AbstractThis work investigated the impact that the processing of hemp (C. sativa L.) fibre has on the mechanical properties of unidirectional fibre-reinforced epoxy resin composites loaded in axial tension, and particleboard reinforced with aligned fibre bundles applied to one surface of the panel. For this purpose, mechanically processed (decorticated) and un-processed hemp fibre bundles, obtained from retted and un-retted hemp stems, were utilised. The results clearly show the impact of fibre reinforcement in both materials. Epoxy composites reinforced with processed hemp exhibited 3.3 times greater tensile strength when compared to the un-reinforced polymer, while for the particleboards, the bending strength obtained in those reinforced with processed hemp was 1.7 times greater than the un-reinforced particleboards. Moreover, whether the fibre bundles were processed or un-processed also affected the mechanical performance, especially in the epoxy composites. For example, the un-processed fibre-reinforced epoxy composites exhibited 49% greater work of fracture than the composites reinforced with processed hemp. In the wood-based particleboards, however, the difference was not significant. Additionally, observations of the fracture zone of the specimens showed different failure characteristics depending on whether the composites were reinforced with processed or un-processed hemp. Both epoxy composites and wood-based particleboards reinforced with un-processed hemp exhibited fibre reinforcement apparently able to retain structural integrity after the composite’s failure. On the other hand, when processed hemp was used as reinforcement, fibre bundles showed a clear cut across the specimen, with the fibre-reinforcement mainly failing at the composite's fracture zone.


2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 407-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hazim Mohamad Hamdan ◽  
Januar Parlaungan Siregar ◽  
Sabu Thomas ◽  
Maya John Jacob ◽  
Jamiluddin Jaafar ◽  
...  

Natural fibre acts as a significant replacement for the known synthetic fibre that tends to cause critical environmental issues. Hence, the hybridization of natural fibre reinforcement has been considered as one of the strategies in reducing synthetic fibre applications. The current research was conducted to determine the effect of layering sequence on the mechanical performance of hybrid woven jute–roselle. In addition, eight different types of composite plate that consisted of single and hybrid were fabricated through the implementation of hand lay-up method. In this case, each composite plate had to undergo the tensile, flexural and impact testing in order to acquire the effect of varying layering sequences. The results of the present study showed that the hybridization of jute–roselle provided was significant, especially on the flexural and impact performance. Furthermore, the tensile strength and modulus were higher on the JRRJ sample and maximum flexural strength also managed to be recorded by the same sample. However, the maximum flexural modulus only managed to be recorded in sample RRJJ. Meanwhile, the impact testing revealed that the composite plate of sample JJRR had the highest impact strength. The void content for all the samples was acceptable because all of them were less than 7%. Finally, scanning electron microscopic image illustrated that the fractured surfaced of composite sample was typically smooth with less formation of void and fibre pull-out.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hernández-Díaz ◽  
Ricardo Villar-Ribera ◽  
Francesc X. Espinach ◽  
Fernando Julián ◽  
Vicente Hernández-Abad ◽  
...  

Natural fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites can be an alternative to mineral fiber-based composites, especially when economic and environment concerns are included under the material selection criteria. In recent years, the literature has shown how lignocellulosic fiber-reinforced composites can be used for a variety of applications. Nonetheless, the impact strength and the water uptake behavior of such materials have been seen as drawbacks. In this work, the impact strength and the water uptake of composites made of polypropylene reinforced with fibers from recycled newspaper have been researched. The results show how the impact strength decreases with the percentage of reinforcement in a similar manner to that of glass fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites as a result of adding a fragile phase to the material. It was found that the water uptake increased with the increasing percentages of lignocellulosic fibers due to the hydrophilic nature of such reinforcements. The diffusion behavior was found to be Fickian. A maleic anhydride was added as a coupling agent in order to increase the strength of the interface between the matrix and the reinforcements. It was found that the presence of such a coupling agent increased the impact strength of the composites and decreased the water uptake. Impact strengths of 21.3 kJ/m3 were obtained for a coupled composite with 30 wt % reinforcement contents, which is a value higher than that obtained for glass fiber-based materials. The obtained composites reinforced with recycled fibers showed competitive impact strength and water uptake behaviors in comparison with materials reinforced with raw lignocellulosic fibers. The article increases the knowledge on newspaper fiber-reinforced polyolefin composite properties, showing the competitiveness of waste-based materials.


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