Effect of Short Glass Fibers on Mechanical Properties of Polyamide66 and Polypropylene (PA66/PP) Thermoplastic Blend Composites

Abstract

Polymer and their composites find use in many engineering applications as alternate products for metal based ones. The fiber filled thermoplastic composites play a very important role in effective improvement of Mechanical properties. In addition, it is often found that the unmodified homopolymer couldn’t satisfy the demands arising from the situations where the combinations of both mechanical and tribological properties are required. This has led to the development of polyblend. Polymer blending is one of the methods of modifying the polymers. In this study, the effect of short glass fibers on the Mechanical behavior of Polyamide66 (PA66) and Polypropylene (PP) polymer blend composites were reported. 80wt. % PA66+20wt. % PP polymer blend was selected as the matrix material for the study. For the better compatibility in the matrix blend, Maleic anhydride (MAgH), a compatibilizer is mixed with the blend. A known weight percentage of short glass fibers such as 5, 10,15,20,25 and 30 were reinforced and their effect was studied systematically. The polymers were combined and fabricated by using Barbender twin screw extruder and the specimens were molded by using injection molding machine as per ASTM. The Mechanical properties such as Tensile strength, Flexural strength and Impact strength are studied and evaluated by using ASTM. The results revealed that there is an increasing trend on the mechanical properties of the reinforced composites. At 25wt. % of short glass fiber reinforced PA66/PP polymer blend, there is an increase in tensile strength of about 44% and an improvement of flexural strength of about 33% more than that of the neat blend was observed. The Impact strength of the SGF reinforced PA66/PP polymer blend composites were decreased by 41.3% than that of the neat polymer blend PA66/PP. The fractured surfaces after mechanical tests were studied and the facts for the variation of these properties can be substantiated by using Fractographic analysis.