Effect of maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene on the flow orientation of short glass fiber in molten polypropylene and on tensile properties of composites

Abstract

AbstractComposites of polypropylene (PP) and PP blended with maleic anhydride‐grafted polypropylene (MAPP) reinforced with short glass fibers were prepared via extrusion compounding and injection molding techniques. The fiber length did not significantly change irrespective of the presence of MAPP after compounding and injection molding. However, the tensile strength of PP/fiber showed significant improvement after MAPP addition. The interfacial shear strength between PP and fiber increased with the addition of MAPP. Examination of the failure surface of a dumbbell specimen after tensile testing confirmed that the fiber highly orientated in the flow direction in the PP/MAPP matrix. The tensile strength enhancement was attributed to the improvement of the interfacial shear strength between PP and fiber. Moreover, in the injection molding process, there was high orientation of the fiber in the flow direction when there was MAPP. We concluded that the presence of MAPP causes increased orientation of the fiber.