Compression Moulding Technique Research Articles

Mechanical characterisation of PEEK-HA composite as an orthopaedic implant

ABSTRACT Nowadays research in the biopolymers is prominent area for research in medical fields. The metallic implants are used in many numbers for the orthopaedic surgeries. But some unavoidable issues are arising after surgeries like stress-shielding, osteogenesis imperfection, etc. To overcome such issues, re-surgery is only one painful option available for the patient. Sometimes, this option is not feasible for the weak and old patients, which results in increased life risk in such situation. Hence, a biopolymer may be the best solutions to eliminate such problems. Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and hydroxyapatite (HA) are having biocompatible characteristic with different mechanical properties. Hence in this paper, three different compositions of PEEK-HA are considered and the composites were prepared using compression moulding technique. To compare the mechanical properties for different compositions of PEEK-HA, the porosity and tensile strength were calculated. Unlike the other techniques, the fracture toughness was evaluated through J-integral method to ensure the matching of the cracking phenomenon with the human bone. Tribological properties, for example, wear resistance and plasticity index for all compositions of PEEK and HA were executed in both static and dynamic mode. The result reveals that PEEK5HA can be used for the possible bone replacement.

Micro-mechanics Study of Nano TiO2 High Friction Composite Material Using Pin on Disc Method

This paper focuses with the analysis of friction and abrasion characteristics of Nano TiO2 composite using pin on disc method. Nano TiO2 with 10 ingredients was fabricated by employing compression moulding technique and also the composite tribology strength was weighd. The six composite specimens were prepared by varying Nano TiO2 (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%) with other ingredients and the results are plotted. It indicates that the abrasion rate was decreased by adding Nano TiO2 upto 8%. Hardness and porosity are also found to increase but heat swell and specific gravity decreases. 6 wt% Nano TiO2 has the property to improve the friction stability during high speed and load. Abrasion tested composites was examined by scanning electron microscope indicating that abrasive, cavity and oxidation were the predominant abrasion mechanism. [Copyright information to be updated in production process]

Mechanical and Structural Properties of Nanocarbon Particles Reinforced in Plasticised Polylactic Acid for High Strength Application

High strength application of biopolymers requires good mechanical strength. The tensile properties of polylactic acid (PLA) are relatively low for major industrial applications such as packaging, biomedical and automobile spare parts. In this study, the mechanical strength of polylactic acid was enhanced with nanocarbon isolated from diesel engine combustion soot. The isolated nanocarbon was characterised using spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis. After that, the nanocarbon was used as a reinforcement in plasticised PLA to produce a composite. The PLA-nanocarbon composite was produced using the compression moulding technique. The nanocarbon composition was varied between 2 wt% and 8 wt% in the PLA matrix. The tensile, hardness and morphological properties of the composite were analysed with the tensile test, hardness test, optical microscope and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The ultraviolet (UV) spectrometer and FTIR analysis results confirmed the successful isolation of nanocarbon from the diesel engine combustion soot. The tensile and hardness properties of the PLA matrix increased with addition of nanocarbon. The morphological images showed good miscibility between the PLA and the nanocarbon reinforcement, responsible for the increase in mechanical properties. The potential use of the composite for high strength application showed great possibility based on the result obtained.

Impact Response and Damage Tolerance of Hybrid Glass/Kevlar-Fibre Epoxy Structural Composites.

The present study is aimed at investigating the effect of hybridisation on Kevlar/E-Glass based epoxy composite laminate structures. Composites with 3 mm thickness and 16 layers of fibre (14 layers of E-glass centred and 2 outer layers of Kevlar) were fabricated using compression moulding technique. The fibre orientation of the Kevlar layers had 3 variations (0, 45 and 60°), whereas the E-glass fibre layers were maintained at 0° orientation. Tensile, flexural, impact (Charpy and Izod), interlaminar shear strength and ballistic impact tests were conducted. The ballistic test was performed using a gas gun with spherical hard body projectiles at the projectile velocity of 170 m/s. The pre- and post-impact velocities of the projectiles were measured using a high-speed camera. The energy absorbed by the composite laminates was further reported during the ballistic test, and a computerised tomographic scan was used to analyse the impact damage. The composites with 45° fibre orientation of Kevlar fibres showed better tensile strength, flexural strength, Charpy impact strength, and energy absorption. The energy absorbed by the composites with 45° fibre orientation was 58.68 J, which was 14% and 22% higher than the 0° and 60° oriented composites.

Effect of Multi-Sized Graphite Filler on the Mechanical Properties and Electrical Conductivity

This research successfully fabricated conductive polymer composites (CPCs) prepared using multiple sizes of graphite filler (40, 100, 150, and 200 µm) that provided excellent network formation within the fillers and polypropylene matrix which further improved both electrical conductivity and flexural strength. An important discussion on the fabrication technique, including compression moulding and injection moulding was conducted, to manufacture CPC materials with a thickness less than 3 mm. The findings of this study suggested that fabricating CPCs using the compression moulding technique with a graphite composition of 75 wt. % exhibited better network connectivity as the electrical conductivity increased to 15 Scm-1. Also, compared to the three sizes of graphite filler (40/100/200 µm) it resulted in 13 Scm-1, with two sizes (40/200 µm) reporting better electrical conductivity at 15 Scm-1. This demonstrated that the addition of multiple sizes was not necessarily due to agglomeration occurring. The resultant graphite composites of 40/200 µm possessed a more stable structure having a thin composite layer (2.5 mm) which promoted better electrical conductivity suitable for bipolar plate used in proton exchange membrane fuel cells.

The influence of different parameters in tribological characteristics of pineapple/sisal/TiO2 filler incorporation

In this experimentation hybrid composites using natural fibers and titanium oxide (TiO2) nano filler were fabricated using compression moulding technique. Pineapple (P) and Sisal (S) fibers were used as the natural reinforcements with epoxy as the matrix material. The mechanical results of flexural, impact and tensile properties found good improvement in the properties with SP fiber reinforcement (1:1 ratio) and TiO2 filler addition. The combination with 40 wt.% SP/5 wt.% TiO2 observed better mechanical results. The Taguchi optimization results showed lower Specific Wear Rate (SWR) by the incorporation of high TiO2 filler (5 wt.%) addition with the polymer-based composites. The filler substitutes replace the vacant space between fiber/matrix phase and add to the properties. The multi response optimization with TOPSIS proved that hybrid SP has the high influence in overall tribological properties of the natural fiber composites with rank 1 followed by filler incorporation. The results showed combination with 5 wt.% TiO2/20 wt.% SP Hybrid fiber/500 m Sliding distance/Sliding speed of 1 m/s and applied load of 5 N having optimized results.

Mechanical and thermal behavior of plantain peel powder filled recycled polyethylene composites

Abstract In the arduous search for ways to clean up the environment and produce viable materials from waste plastics; plantain peel powder filled low density polyethylene wastes (wLDPE) were developed through melt mixing and compression moulding techniques. Optimum properties were determined at 15, 55 and 30 % formulation of plantain peel powder, and Kankara clay respectively. Composition with optimum properties has tensile strength of 55.5 MPa, flexural strength of 50.45 MPa and elastic modulus of 2.30 GPa with corresponding minimal water absorption of 0.95% after 30 days immersion period at room temperature. The thermal properties investigated by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis showed that the composite has better thermal stability at higher temperature than wLDPE. Similarly, through creep analysis, the composite was observed to have better load bearing capability at elevated temperature than waste low density polyethylene material. These results indicate that incorporation of treated plantain peel powder and Kankara clay into wLDPE enhanced the mechanical, thermal and creep resistance of wLDPE. This implies load bearing capability and potential suitability for different wall tiles applications.

Effect of Silicon Carbide on the Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Snake Grass/Sisal Fiber Reinforced Hybrid Epoxy Composites

In this study, an attempt was made to develop and characterize Snake Grass Fiber (SGF)/Silicon Carbide (SiC)/epoxy and Snake Grass Fiber/Sisal Fiber (SF)/Silicon Carbide/epoxy hybrid composites using a compression moulding technique. Mechanical characteristics of the produced hybrid composites such as tensile, flexural, and hardness tests were analyzed. Also experiments have been carried out to predict the thermal stability of the fabricated composite samples. The interface between fiber and matrix was examined by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Among SGF/SiC/epoxy and SGF/SF/SiC/epoxy composites, it has been observed that hybrid composite SGF/SF/SiC/epoxy exhibits the higher hardness of 82 Shore-D, tensile strength of 51 MPa and flexural strength of 73 MPa. In contrast to the mechanical properties, the percentage of water absorption was lower in the SGF/SiC/epoxy hybrid composite. It is proven from the results that the SGF/SF/SiC/epoxy hybrid composites will enhance the strength of the composites. This composite material is also a potential candidate for the hardware of energy devices including electrochemical energy along with Fuel Cell systems.

The Mechanical and Thermoelectric Properties of Bi2Te3-Based Alloy Prepared by Constrained Hot Compression Technique

This study proposes a constrained hot compression-molding (CHCM) technique for preparing Bi2Te3-based alloys. This method overcomes the problem of easy cleavage and destruction for the zone-melted Bi2Te3-based alloy, which is beneficial to improve the material utilization rate and thermoelectric devices yield in the commercial manufacturing process. The stress field distribution inside the CHCM specimen is explored via finite element analysis. The compressive strength of the CHCM sample is above 44 MPa, which is about 38% higher than that of the zone melting (ZM) material. Meanwhile, the CHCM sample shows a much lower electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity, but a higher Seebeck coefficient than that of the ZM sample, which is mainly due to the increase of the line defect concentration induced by the CHCM process. Finally, a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) value of 0.6 was achieved for CHCM sample.

Synthesis on mechanical properties of newly developed polymer matrix hybrid nano composite

In the present work, newly formulated polymer matrix hybrid Nano composite were developed with Ni-P coated natural fibre is investigated. The polymer matrix material is epoxy based hybrid Nano composite is fabricated with electroless Ni-P coated bamboo fibre as the reinforcement. The electroless plating method is used to coating on bamboo fibre surface. The electroless nickel phosphorus coating method to increases the uniform coatings which in turn significantly improved the properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength of the bamboo fibre with Nano filler of titanium oxide 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% wt are added Nano filler as reinforcement into the matrix material. The influence of coated bamboo fibre and Nano filler its effect on the mechanical properties are investigated. The result observed that after adding Nano filler TiO2 in coated hybrid composite seen better properties when compared to uncoated hybrid Nano composite with TiO2 Nano filler. The sample was prepared by compression moulding technique. Eight samples was prepared by both coated and uncoated composites in different weight ratio for matrix material, reinforcement as 4.5%, 9%, 13.5% and 18% wt of bamboo fibre and Nano filler as 0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2% respectively. The tested result showed that after Ni-P coating on bamboo fibre with Nano filler as better mechanical properties was observed in sample 18% wt of coated bamboo fibre and 2% wt of Nano filler is excellence when compared as uncoated hybrid Nano composites.

Influence of alkali treatment on physio-mechanical properties of jute–epoxy composite

ABSTRACT The present study deals with development of jute epoxy composite using compression moulding technique and assessing the influence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) on the mechanical properties of the developed composite. Three different concentrations of NaOH alkali (5%, 10% and 15%) is considered in the present study. Various tests carried out indicates that the addition of alkali enhances the tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength up to 5% concentration of NaOH. Further addition of NaOH results in reduced mechanical properties. It is found that the impact strength of the alkali treated composites are better than non treated composites. The optimal concentration of 5% NaOH is suggested for treatment of the fibres used in composites.

Fabrication and Mechanical Characterization of Jute-Coir Reinforced Unsaturated Polyester Resin Hybrid Composites with Various Fiber Size using Compression Moulding Technique

Fiber reinforced composites plays major role in improving the strength of various applications in current trends. Based on these trends the combination of natural jute/coir fiber hybrid composite of different size of fiber length was examined in this study. The hybrid fiber composite was fabricated by compression moulding technique by impregnating jute fiber and coir fiber with unsaturated polyester resin, Cobalt octoate and methyl-ethyl-ketone peroxide as accelerator and catalyst. Then the prepared mould placed into the oven to dry for 4 hrs. at 50°C beneath closely to vacuum condition then convert the cured mould to the hot press initially for 1 hr at 105°C under 84 bar pressure until while squeeze out the excess resin, then it was cooled in cold press under constant pressure of 275 bar pressure for 15 min to prevent the warpage of hybrid composites. The micro hardness, tensile, flexural, impact strength of hybrid composite was carried out and the morphology of the composites was evaluated and compared. The test results of the hybrid composite were analyzed by one way ANOVA analysis technique and it shows significant difference among the groups.

Influence of processed waste bagasse fibre-stone dust-6063 aluminium alloy particle on the characteristics of hybrid reinforced recycled HDPE composites

ABSTRACT A novel hybrid composite material was developed through the compression moulding technique by adding bagasse fibre, stone-dust and 6063 aluminium alloy (Al-Mg-Si) particles to recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE) matrix. The bagasse fibres were treated while the stone-dust and 6063 aluminium alloy (Al-Mg-Si) particles were sieved to particle sizes of ˂75 µm and ˂250 µm, respectively, before blending with the matrix. The work investigates comparatively, the influence of bagasse fibre-stone dust (hybrid-of-2) and bagasse fibre-stone dust-Al-Mg-Si particles (hybrid-of-3) on composite formation systems for reinforced rHDPE composites. The properties of recycled HDPE and rHDPE composites were thoroughly investigated through selected mechanical properties, wear resistance and thermal conductivity tests. The results show that the addition of bagasse fibre-stone dust-Al-Mg-Si alloy particles improves the mechanical, wear and thermal properties of the composites. The ultimate tensile strength was enhanced by 39% having a UTS value of 32 MPa, tensile modulus by 13% with a value of 98 MPa and wear resistance by 53% with a value of 0.8 g. SEM images showed that these reinforcements blended more properly when lower contents were added. This is responsible for the enhancement observed in the mechanical properties of the hybrid-of-3 reinforced composite.

CHARACTERIZATION OF LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE WASTE FILLED WITH PALM KERNEL SHELL

All over the world, polyethylene wastes has been found littered on the streets of most communities and states. Palm kernel shell (agricultural waste) constitutes dirt and environmental pollution. The aim of this research was to study the potentials of palm kernel shell (PKS) filler as reinforcement for low density polyethylene (LDPE) waste. LDPE-Palm kernel shell composites of varying ratio (100:0, 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50) of LDPE to PKS respectively were produced using the compression moulding technique. Mechanical properties such as water absorption, hardness, young’s modulus and tensile strength of the composites were found to increase with increasing PKS loading. The results showed that composites containing 40% of PKS gave the highest tensile strength corresponding to 18.42MPa. The results also indicated that the composites with 50% filler loading gave the highest hardness of 84.25A and water absorption rate which stood at 3.1%. The elongation at break was found to decrease with increasing filler content. The scanning electron micrograph (SEM) obtained revealed that the composites with 20% and 50% palm kernel shell had voids and surface cracks.

Mechanical and Biodegradation Behaviour of Jute/ Polylactic Acid Green Composites

Global warming, diminution of fossil fuels, escalating oil price’s are the major reasons which forces the researchers to develop green products for the sustainable development. In this research work, green composites have been developed with jute fibers as reinforcement and poly lactic acid as matrix material using compression moulding technique. All composites were developed with maintaining the reinforcement as 30% fiber volume fraction. The influence of curing temperature with the range of 160°C, 170°C and 180°C was investigated for various mechanical properties of developed composites and degradation behaviour of developed composites were analysed using soil burial test. Results acquired from the tests specify that the tensile and flexural strength decreases with upsurge in curing temperature. Morphology study using scanning electron microscopy is further justified the findings obtained from mechanical tests. Biodegradation study was done on the all the three different composites under the soil burial conditions for 9 months and results indicate that composites developed at 160°C degrade faster as compared to others. This study also gives an optimum curing temperature for the development of jute/PLA composites.

A comparative Study Between Fluka and Microshield Modeling Calculations to study the Radiation‐Shielding of Nanoparticles and Plastic Waste composites

AbstractA comparative study has been conducted by using Monte Carlo FLUKA code and Microshieldsoftware programs to study the radiation shielding properties of plastic waste mixed with nano copper oxide (CuO) and phosphotungstic acid (PTA). The variousdiverse percentages of new nanocomposite have been prepared using the compression moulding technique, then they are characterized using Fourier transfer infrared spectrophotometer (FT‐IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The new nanocomposite has been established as a effective shielding material towards gamma radiation due to the presence of dense materials, like nano copper oxide and phosphotungstic acid. The gamma radiation attenuation has been established by using the previously mentioned methods. The results have proved that the mass attenuation coefficients (μm) and effective atomic (Zeff), and electron densities (Nel) of the samples increased with increasing the phosphotungstic acid (PTA) content while the half‐value layer (HVL), the tenth value layer (TVL), and the mean free path (MFP) decreased as PTA increased.

Performance Characteristics of Unsaturated Polyester Reinforced with High Frequency Microwave Treated Natural Fibre

Using the most environmentally sustainable agro-waste fibers as reinforcement has opened up a new direction for polymer composite research. Research has recommended that altering of fibre surface by both chemical and physical means, increases the performance characteristic of natural fibre/polymer matrix. In this study, high-frequency microwave irradiation at a frequency of 2.45 GHZ and 550W power was used to treat natural fibre extracted from plantain (Musa paradisiacal) pseudo steam. Microwave modified and untreated plantain fibre was used to fabricate a biocomposite using polyester resin as polymer matrix, by means of hand lay-up and compression moulding technique. Results reveal an increase in mechanical strength of the modified fibre reinforced bio-composites at optimised conditions, thus creating opportunities and consistency to be use in technological and structural applications.

The Development and Characterisation of Recycled Polyethylene Reinforced Particulate Cockle Shell for Automobile Application

Polymer reinforced composites were developed from recycled polyethylene briquettes (matrix) and particulate cockle shells (reinforcement) via compounding and compression moulding technique. The objective was to use urban wastes to produce low-cost material for engineering applications as an alternative to their disposal by incineration, which can cause atmospheric pollution. The composites were characterized for wear test using spin on disk, XRD, Universal Testing Machine for Mechanical Properties and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for microstructure. Results obtained were compared with the unreinforced polymer, the composites exhibited higher tensile strength and impact energy, while the hardness reduced. More so, above 20% filler addition, the flexural strength and Young Modulus decreased. The composite can be used where rigidity is a crucial performance requirement; at 20% weight cockle shell, the composites can be used for car inner door opener where rigidity is required, while at 50% additions, the developed composite will be suitable for use in car interior dashboard where strength and fracture toughness are the most crucial property demand. Furthermore, the morphological study of the RPE/CSP composite showed a high homogeneous polymer matrix’s cockle shell particle blend. In conclusion, the study has established that particulate cockle shell waste and recycled polyethylene are suitable materials to produce polymeric composite. This is a novel material development from waste to wealth for environmental sustainabilityKeywords— Cockle shells, Recycled Polyethylene, Composite, Particulate

Mechanical Behaviour of Jute/ZrO2 Based Polyester Composites at Microstructural Scale

Alkali treated jute fibre incorporated silanized ZrO2 based unsaturated polyester composites were synthesized using compression moulding technique. The filler loading was adopted with a progressive wt. %, of 5, 15, 25, 35 and 45 respectively. These samples were further subjected to structural investigation using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction technique to observe the morphological features and crystalline nature of the matrix. The mechanical characterization was accomplished at the microstructural length scale from macro to submicron range. It was observed that the composite with 35 wt. % filler loading resulted in the best properties among the lot.

Mode of bond failure between 3D-printed denture teeth and printed resin base material: effect of fabrication technique and dynamic loading. An in-vitro study.

To evaluate the failure load of 3D-printed denture resin material and teeth before and after dynamic loading. A total of 40 specimens were fabricated following ISO/TS 19736 and were divided into two equal groups. In the test group, the cylindrical base and denture teeth were 3D printed separately and then luted together. In the control group, the specimens were fabricated from conventional heat-cured polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and commercially available denture teeth using the compression-molding technique. Ten specimens from each group were subjected to dynamic load of 50 N for 250,000 cycles in a chewing simulator. All specimens were subjected to static load of 50 N using Instron machine with a crosshead speed of 1 mm/minute until fracture. The fractured surfaces were analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy. The failure loads were calculated and compared using analysis of variance (P < .05). All specimens survived the loading, undergoing 250,000 cycles without fracture. The mean failure load was influenced by fabrication technique and was significantly higher for the 3D-printed test group (P = .028). 3D-printed teeth showed a mixed mode of fracture, whereas in the control group, the specimens showed cohesive fracture within the teeth. The fabrication technique has an influence on the mode of failure between acrylic teeth and resin base material. Cohesive failure in teeth was predominant in the conventional group, suggesting possibly higher bond strength between the teeth and resin base in this group. The observed failure modes reveal that both fabrication techniques exhibited satisfactory bond strength. Chewing simulation did not significantly influence the bond strength of any of the tested groups.