Experimental And Theoretical Study on The Impact Strength and Hardness Properties Of HDPE/SWCNTs Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymer-based nanocomposites are widely investigated owing to their unique and remarkable mechanical properties. Yet, obtaining polymer nanocomposites with improved impact strength and acceptable hardness properties is a major challenge. This is because various types of polymers and nanoparticles can be combined to, or sometimes, fail to achieve such properties. However, the use of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) reinforced with Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs) nanoparticles at various weight fractions was proposed in this work. The analytical study was conducted according to the FEM approach on the hardness properties of HDPE/SWCNTs nanocomposites samples. The analytical FEM results of the hardness properties were validated by experimental results. The experimental study was conducted based on the hardness test and the Charpy impact test. The experimental results obtained showed a significant improvement in the mechanical properties of HDPE reinforced with SWCNTs nanoparticles. At 0.8 wt% of SWCNTs nanoparticles, considerable impact strength and hardness improvement were experienced. The impact strength of the HDPE was enhanced by 62.8%. Moreover, the impact test samples were found to be brittle based on the way they fractured after the test. This was validated using the tensile test results of another study. The hardness properties of HDPE were improved by 20.6%, which was found to be in support of the impact strength and tensile test findings. Furthermore, the theoretical model for the hardness properties of nanocomposites showed to correlate with the obtained results. These results prove that SWCNTs might serve as a suitable strengthening material for various polymers.