Effect fiber length on mechanical and thermal properties of glass fiber reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composite

Abstract

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) finds extensive applications in the automotive industry, aerospace electrical, and electronic components, as well as mechanical applications. In order to enhance the toughness and strength of PPS, this study employed long glass fibers as reinforcement material and prepared glass fiber-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide composites (PPS/GF) using melt blending method. Based on fiber length distribution (FLD), this study comparatively analyzed the mechanical and thermal properties of short-cut glass fiber (PPS/SGF3mm) and continuous glass fiber (PPS/LGF) composites. Experimental results demonstrated that with a 5.45% increase in critical fiber length fraction, the tensile strength of PPS/LGF composites exhibited a significant improvement of 11.25%–13.6% compared to PPS/SGF3mm composites. Furthermore, FLD had minimal influence on the thermal stability of the composites, but exerted a significant impact on the crystallization behavior, whereby LGF led to a significant reduction in the crystallinity of PPS composites. These findings suggest that the utilization of continuous glass fibers enables the development of cost-effective and robust PPS composites, meeting the requirements of high strength and high temperature resistance in engineering applications. This study provides valuable insights for material selection and design.