Rotational Moulding and Mechanical Characterisation of Micron-Sized and Nano-Sized Reinforced High Density Polyethylene

Abstract

Rotational moulding (RM) of plastics is predominantly used to produce hollow, singlepiece products. Polyethylene (PE) in its various forms, is the most commonly used material for this process. Researchers have been conducting numerous experiments trying to incorporate reinforcements attempting to improve the mechanical performance of RM products and overcome the material limitations posed by design parameters. One of the most common problems with reinforcement in RM is the migration of the filler towards the inside of the mould and agglomerations. In order to find a competitive material which is desirable by industry, RM experiments were conducted with various composite reinforcements; high density polyethylene (HDPE), numerous types of glass fibres (GF), carbon fibres (CF) and carbon nanotubes (CNT). In particular, the influence of low weight fractions of reinforcement on the mechanical performance, tensile, flexural and impact properties of HDPE were investigated.