Tensile, flexural and fatigue properties of different thermoplastic nanocomposites: experimental investigation and ANN prediction of the fatigue life

Abstract

ABSTRACT Polymer-based nanocomposites have received immense attention in industrial applications as their mechanical properties are superior to traditional polymer composites. In this study, three different thermoplastic polymers, namely (a) polypropylene (PP), (b) acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), and (c) high-density polyethylene (HDPE) were used for the purpose of engineering different nanoclay-based nanocomposites. The blending of the polymer was performed by varying the nanoclay weight percentage (0.5, 1, 3, and 5 wt.%) using a twin-screw extruder. The different nanocomposites were fabricated through injection moulding process. The composites were fabricated by considering the 90 bars of injection pressure, 60 mm/s of injection speed, and 25 sec of cooling time. The effect of nanoclay inclusion on the mechanical properties of the nanocomposites was evaluated and compared with the neat polymer. The effect of nanoclay inclusion was studied through morphological analysis of the fractured tested specimens. The tensile strength and modulus of ABS-nanoclay (5%) exhibited an enhancement of 30.95% and 35%, respectively as compared to the pure ABS. Meanwhile, the fatigue life revealed an improvement of 66.01%. The tensile strength and modulus of the ABS/nanoclay (5%) were achieved as 38.6 MPa and 1.44 GPa.