Lamination of Glass Fiber Woven Fabrics and High Density Polyethylene/Clay Composition: Preparation, Tensile Properties, and Crystallization Properties

Abstract

In this study, high density polyethylene (HDPE) is reinforced by the combination of clay to form HDPE/clay composites by applying maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene (PE-g-MA) as a compatibilizer and a melt compounding method. The properties of composites are evaluated with a tensile strength test, a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Next, such composites are laminated with glass fiber woven fabrics (GFW) to form HDPE/clay/GFW composites by using a thermal compression molding method. A tensile strength test and an SEM are used to measure the properties of the HDPE/clay/GFW composites. The test results show that the combination of clay in HDPE/clay composites does not provide their tensile strength with a distinct reinforcement. However, the dispersion of clay promotes the crystallization temperature of the HDPE/clay composites. In addition, using PE-g-MA as the compatibilizer results in a good adhesion of HDPE/clay composites to GFW, which in turn augments the tensile strength of the HDPE/clay/GFW composites.