Mechanical and rheological properties of HDPE/graphite composite with enhanced thermal conductivity

Abstract

Having been treated with coupling agent and pan-milling, graphite is incorporated into HDPE to make a HDPE/graphite composite with enhanced thermal conductivity as well as good mechanical properties and processibility. This paper focuses on the study of mechanical properties, thermal stability and rheological behavior of HDPE/graphite composite. The experimental results show that with increase of the graphite content, Young's modulus of HDPE/graphite increases and the elongation at break and impact strength decrease. However, when the graphite content is 35% in HDPE/graphite, the elongation at break and impact strength still remain 22.4% and 85.8J/m, respectively. Also, the yield strength increases with the increase of the graphite content, and reaches the maximum at 55% graphite content, and reduces afterwards. The crystallization temperature and thermal stability of HDPE/graphite increase with the increase of the graphite content. The melt viscosity of the filled HDPE remains almost unchanged, but the shear sensitivity increases, and the temperature sensitivity decreases with the increase of the graphite content. By optimizing the experimental conditions, a HDPE/graphite composite with fairly good comprehensive properties such as enhanced thermal conductivity and stability, good mechanical properties, and processability could be prepared, which has potential application in the field of heat transfer.