Effect of 5-15% Carbon Black Reinforcement on Mechanical Properties and Resistivity of Polyurethane Composites

Abstract

This research investigated the effects of carbon black-reinforced thermoplastic polyurethane matrix composite with variation of 5, 10, and 15 vol.% on mechanical properties and electrical resistance. The composites were produced using injection molding process with temperature of 193 °C, pressure of 30 bar and injection speed of 176 mm/sec. Characterization of composites were conducted by hardness and tensile testing, electrical resistivity measurement and SEM examinations. The results showed that the highest tensile strength of composite of 20.44 MPa is obtained with carbon black 10 vol.% reinforcement. The hardness improved with the increase of carbon black reinforcement, which the highest hardness was produced on carbon black 15 vol.% composite by 89.5 Shore A. The lowest resistivity was achieved in polyurethane composite reinforced with 15 vol.% carbon black of 8.20 x 105 Ω.