Study on the mechanical and morphological properties of toughened polypropylene blends for automobile bumpers

Guangyong Liu,Guixue Qiu

doi:10.1007/s00289-012-0880-1

Abstract

Studies on the use of polyolefin elastomer (POE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) for toughening polypropylene (PP) to meet the demands of automobile bumpers were conducted. The effect of the basic resin, POE and the influences of the POE amount and HDPE doses on the mechanical properties of the blended composites were discussed. The morphology of impact fracture sections were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the crystalline properties were investigated by DSC. The effect of the composites’ morphology on mechanical properties was also discussed. Results showed that POE could improve the impact strength of PP while the use of HDPE had obvious effects on synergistic toughening. SEM images and DSC data analysis testified to the relationship between morphology, crystallinity and the mechanical properties.

Highlights

Studies on the use of polyolefin elastomer (POE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) for toughening polypropylene (PP) to meet the demands of automobile bumpers were conducted
The morphology of impact fracture sections were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the crystalline properties were investigated by DSC
Results showed that POE could improve the impact strength of PP while the use of HDPE had obvious effects on synergistic toughening

Summary

Introduction

Studies on the use of polyolefin elastomer (POE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) for toughening polypropylene (PP) to meet the demands of automobile bumpers were conducted. The effect of the basic resin, POE and the influences of the POE amount and HDPE doses on the mechanical properties of the blended composites were discussed. Results showed that POE could improve the impact strength of PP while the use of HDPE had obvious effects on synergistic toughening. Results indicated that PP/POE and PP/EPDM blends presented similar mechanical performance, but POE showed a better processability. Results showed that the addition of POE decreased the shear deformation greatly because of the elastomer particle voids and the brittle–ductile transition (BDT) in both impact and high speed tensile tests shared the same mechanism. The effect of the morphology of the composites on mechanical properties of the blends was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Methods

Results

Conclusion