Impact strength investigation of foamed linear low density polyethylene in rotational moulding process

Abstract

Rotational moulding of foamed polyethylene has increasingly become an important process in industry. The main focus of this article is to examine the rotomouldability of a foamed polyethylene and their impact strength. As components produced using rotational moulding process are used in outdoor applications (like overhead chemical storage tanks, water storage tanks, automobile fuel tanks, car bodies, etc), impact strength of such products is considered as one of the prime quality feature. The work centres on the use of statistical technique to analyse the impact strength of foamed rotationally moulded products. The investigations are done on a typical linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) mixed with 6% LLDPE foam material. Experimental runs and analysis based on design of experiments (DOE) revealed nonlinear effects of process parameters on impact strength. It is found that maximum impact strength of the foamed rotomoulded product could be obtained by optimal fixing of process parameters.