Glass fiber and nanoclay reinforced polypropylene composites: morphological, thermal and mechanical properties

Hybrid composites of polypropylene (PP)/nanoclay (NC)/glass fiber (GF) were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Molded specimens were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), tensile and flexural tests. TEM results revealed NC particle intercalation. TGA results showed that the incorporation of clay into the GF composite improves the thermal stability of the material. The initial thermal decomposition temperatures also shifted to higher values. Incorporation of GF into PP lowers the tensile strength of the binary composite, indicating poor fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion. However, introducing NC increased the strength of the ternary composites. Tensile modulus was enhanced with the incorporation of GF and further increased with an introduction of NC. Flexural strength and flexural modulus are both enhanced with an increase in GF and NC loading

Micro-structural, thermal, and mechanical properties of injection-molded glass fiber/nanoclay/polypropylene composites

Hybrid composites of PP/NC/GF were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Molded specimens were analyzed by XRD, SEM, and TEM, together with characterization of thermal and mechanical properties. XRD results revealed that the interaction between NC particles and the PP matrix results in intercalation of the polymer chains, which increases the clay interlayer distance. TEM results revealed NC particle intercalation. TGA results showed that the incorporation of clay into the GF composite improves the thermal stability of the material. The initial thermal decomposition temperatures also shifted to higher values. Incorporation of GF into PP lowers the tensile strength of the binary composite, indicating poor fiber-matrix interfacial adhesion; however, introducing NC increased the strength of the ternary composites. Tensile modulus was enhanced with the incorporation of GF and further increased with an introduction of NC. Flexural strength and flexural modulus are both enhanced with an increase in fiber loading. The addition of clay nanoparticles further improved these properties

Polypropylene/glass fiber/nanoclay hybrid composites: morphological, thermal, dynamic mechanical and impact behaviors

Polypropylene/E-glass fiber/nanoclay were compounded with a twin-screw extruder and injection molded. Thermal, dynamic mechanical, and impact tests were carried out. Differential scanning calorimetry investigations showed that the incorporation of nanoclay into polypropylene/glass fiber composite shifted the melting temperature (T m) to higher values. The degree of crystallinity (X c) was strongly influenced by the presence of the glass fiber and nanoclay in the matrix. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed an increase in storage modulus (E�); indicating higher stiffness of the hybrid composites when compared to the glass fiber composites and the virgin matrix. From the tan δ curves, a strong influence of glass fiber and nanoclay content on the magnitude of tan δ max value was observed. Impact test showed a reduction in the critical strain energy release rate, G c for hybrid composites with higher nanoclay loading. The stress intensity factor, K c values showed insignificant effect with the presence of nanoclay and GF

Thermal and mechanical properties of treated and untreated Red Balau (Shorea Dipterocarpaceae)/LDPE composites

Red Balau saw dust was heat-treated at 180°C and 200°C for 1 h. Treated and untreated wood flour were compounded with LDPE at 9, 20, and 37 by weight and molded in an injection molding machine. Thermal and mechanical properties of the resultant composites were investigated as a function of filler loadings and treatment temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed an increase in degradation peak temperature (T p) of the heat-treated wood and composites. DSC revealed a decreasing trend in the degree of crystallinity (X c) of the matrix when heat-treated wood was used as filler. On the other hand, untreated wood showed an increase in X c with increasing wood content. Tensile modulus increased with heat treatment and filler loading. Furthermore, flexural strength and modulus were found to increase with filler loading

Microstructure and Thermal Analysis of Brake Pads Developed from Asbestos-Free Materials

This study was conducted on developed asbestos-free brake pad using coconut shell and seashell as fillers. The use of hazardous reinforcement like asbestos fiber in friction materials is being avoided because of its carcinogenic effects. Rule of mixture technique was utilized during sample formulation and a weight percent of 52% filler material, 5% friction modifier, 8% abrasive and 35% binder were utilized for production.  A multi-response optimization technique (grey relational analysis) was used to obtain an optimal process parameter of moulding pressure (14 MPa), moulding temperature (140 ºC), curing time (8 minutes) and heat treatment time (5 hours) for coconut shell-filled brake pad and moulding pressure (14 MPa), moulding temperature (160 ºC), curing time (12 minutes) and heat treatment time (1 hour) for seashell-filled brake pad. Thermal analysis of commercial and optimized samples shows that the commercial brake pads possesses a better thermal stability compared to the optimized formulated brake pad samples with the coconut shell-filled samples showing the least thermal resistance. Also, microstructure analysis of the impact fractured surfaces of the commercial, seashell and coconut shell-filled brake pad was conducted using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results revealed that compare the commercial and seashell-filled samples, there were more uniform distribution of the resin in the coconut shell-filled composite leading to an improved bonding and closer inter- packing distance between its constituent particles and the epoxy resin. It was also revealed that the commercial brake pad possessed a higher thermal stability as the components were not noticeably degraded at temperatures at which the coconut shell and the seashell filled brake pads showed appreciable degradation