Effect of Particle Shape on the Mechanical Properties of Particle-Filled PVC

Abstract

The effects of particle volume fraction, size and shape on the yield stress of a particle-filled ductile polymer were investigated. For this purpose, 10–50 parts of glass beads ranging in size from about 50 to 200 μm were mixed with 100 parts of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) as a ductile matrix using a mixing roll, and tensile tests were carried out. The yield stress decreased considerably with an increase in filler content, but only decreased slightly with an increase in particle size. To clarify the effect of particle shape, agglomerates of the glass beads were prepared by treating them with poly(vinyl alcohol), which has poor compatibility with the PVC matrix. It was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy that the agglomerates, consisting of a few beads on the average, were dispersed in the matrix. The decrease in the yield stress was smaller in the agglomerate-filled resin than in the original bead-filled resin. The shape of the particles seems to be important in moderating the decrease in the yield stress of particle-filled ductile polymers.The authors are grateful to Mr. Toshiki Takamatsu, New Metals and Chemicals Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan for measuring the particle size distributions and for his useful suggestions, and also to Bihoku Funka Kogyo Co., Ltd., Okayama, Japan for the CaCO3particles.