Study of the material engineering properties of high-density poly(ethylene)/perlite nanocomposite materials

Lubomír Lapčík,Barbora Lapčíková,Yousef Murtaja,Michal Staněk,Martin Vašina,Martin Ovsík

doi:10.1515/ntrev-2020-0113

Abstract

Abstract This paper was focused on application of the perlite mineral as the filler for polymer nanocomposites in technical applications. A strong effect of the perlite nano-filler on high-density poly(ethylene) (HDPE) composites’ mechanical and thermal properties was found. Also found was an increase of the Young’s modulus of elasticity with the increasing filler concentration. Increased stiffness from the mechanical tensile testing was confirmed by the nondestructive vibrator testing as well. This was based on displacement transmissibility measurements by means of forced oscillation single-degree-of freedom method. Fracture toughness showed a decreasing trend with increasing perlite concentration, suggesting occurrence of the brittle fracture. Furthermore, ductile fracture processes were observed as well at higher filler concentrations by means of SEM analysis. There was also found relatively strong bonding between polymer chains and the filler particles by SEM imagining.

Highlights

Modification and recycling of polymers is an important part of the polymer research and applications [1,2,3]
It was found that dominating factors responsible for controlled mechanical response patterns of the composites are mainly the physicochemical properties of the applied polymer base matrix (e.g., high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density poly(ethylene) (LDPE), linear low-density poly(ethylene) (LLDPE), etc.) and the properties of the filler particles
141.6 82.5 28.59 451.3 474.3 86.2 c – filler concentration, Tm – melting peak temperature, ΔHm – heat of fusion, wC – crystallinity, TD – differential thermal analysis (DTA) peak of decomposition, TA – starting point – intersection of extrapolated staring mass with the tangent applied to the maximum slope of the TG curve, TWL – total weight loss, ΔHm endothermic process detected in the temperature range from 95 to 175°C for all samples

Summary

Introduction

Modification and recycling of polymers is an important part of the polymer research and applications [1,2,3]. Poly(ethylene) chain has the smallest transversal crosssection compared to all polymers [10]. This is due to the lack of the presence of the pendant groups in its macromolecular structure. The system of the unidirectional-oriented polyethylene chains has relatively high strong elements available per unit area capable to transmit high mechanical stresses. For this reason, the macroscopic mechanical strength of such structure is very high. There was found increased risk of cavities formation at the nano-filler/polymer matrix interface in the HDPE

Methods

Results

Conclusion