Investigation of mechanical and tribological properties of different grain size iron scale reinforced polymer composite

In this study, the change of mechanical properties by adding iron scales of different sizes into polypropylene (PP) was investigated. The iron scale was obtained from a steel production plant and adjusted to 30, 50, 90, 120, and 150 µm grain sizes. These iron scales were then added to the polymer material at a rate of 5% by weight. Wear and tensile strength tests were applied to the samples, which were formed in two different types. According to the results obtained, the wear and tensile strength of polymer material in all grain sizes were improved with an added iron scale. It was observed that the wear resistance of the composite material formed with the addition of fine-grained reinforcing element was the highest. Although grain size increased with increasing tensile strength, wear resistance did not increase. Besides, the friction coefficient was measured to be lower at increasing load. While the effective wear mechanism in pure polymer material is plastic deformation, this wear mechanism has not been found in composite materials with different grain sizes. In this study, it has been shown that iron scales have a positive effect on the mechanical properties of polymer composites.

Mechanical and tribological properties of waste iron scale reinforced polypropylene composite

Purpose In this study, waste iron scale, which occurs in high amounts during steel production and contains high amounts of iron element, was used as a reinforcing material in the polypropylene (PP) matrix. Design/methodology/approach In the PP matrix, 33 micron-sized iron scale was added at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% ratios. The composites were subjected to mechanical and dry sliding wear tests. The wear mechanisms occurring on the wear surfaces were determined by SEM supported by EDS. Tensile testing was performed using a tensile tester. Hardness tests were performed using a Shore-D hardness tester with ASTM-D-22 standards. Findings Composite reinforced with 5% iron scale showed the highest tensile strength. The addition of higher amounts of iron scale particles reduced the tensile strength of the composites compared to PP. Hardness increased from 58 to 64 Shore-D with the increase in scale content. The reinforcement of PP with iron scale increased the dry sliding wear resistance. Originality/value According to the authors’ knowledge, in the literature review, there was no study found on the effect of iron scale reinforcement on PP. Peer review The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2020-0316/