Mechanical characterization and morphological behavior of a novel composite of ABS polymer strengthened by cellulose

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present work is a novel investigation of the mechanical behavior of a fabricated cellulose-fiber-reinforced acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) polymer matrix composite. Polymer matrix composite (PMC) samples were prepared by varying ratios of ABS and cellulose weight percentages such as pure ABS, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, and 50:50. In comparison with pure ABS, the maximum improvements of mechanical behaviors observed from the fabricated materials are 22.22% of flexural strength, 51.11% of impact strength, 15% of hardness, and 50% of compression strength; also, morphological studies like X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy were carried out, and their correlations were obtained for similar ABS matrix composite materials. The addition of 20 weight percent of cellulose reinforcement with 80 weight percentage of the ABS matrix composite improved the flexural strength to 63MPa, impact strength to 34 J/m2,, hardness to 83.1, and shore D and compressive strength to 18 MPa. DMA (Dynamic Mechanical Analysis) analysis of the fabricated specimen showed increased storage modulus and reduced damping factor over the pure ABS matrix material. Morphological studies of the PMC reveal the even distribution of cellulose reinforcement within the ABS matrix materials.