Examinations of structure and properties of polymer composite with glass fiber
Renata Caban
Quarterly No. 4, 2019 pages 150-156
DOI:
keywords: polymer composites, polypropylene, glass fiber, mechanical and thermal properties
abstract The article discusses the results of research on the structure and mechanical properties of polypropylene composites with glass fiber. The samples for the examinations were made using a Krauss-Maffei (KM65 – 160C1) screw injection molding machine. The investigations encompassed composites with a polypropylene matrix which contained 30 and 50% glass fiber (GF). Part of the material was processed by heat treatment in the form of annealing. The crystal structure of the samples was analyzed on a wide-angle X-ray diffractometer - Seifert 3003 T-T. In most of the obtained diffraction patterns a few strong diffraction reflexes can be seen. They were identified as reflections derived from polypropylene polymorphs: α (monoclinic), β (hexagonal) and from the smectic phase of polypropylene. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests were performed on a DMA 242 Netzsch instrument under the mode of a 3-point bending clamp with an oscillatory frequency of 3.0 Hz. The transition to the glassy state is the most evident for polypropylene. In the case of polypropylene composites, the transition to the glassy state is less evident. The largest tendency of the storage modulus value as a function of temperature to decrease was noted for polypropylene and the smallest for the polypropylene composite with a 50% glass fiber content. Higher values of storage modulus E′ were noted after annealing. For all the samples, glass transition temperature Tg decreases after annealing. Investigations of the mechanical properties of the studied composites were also performed: tensile strength testing, Young's modulus, hardness and impact test. In each case the addition of glass fiber caused an increase in mechanical properties. Moreover, it can be noted that the values of the mechanical properties of PP/GF composites after annealing are higher than those of PP/GF composites before annealing. Both the Vicat softening temperature as well as heat deflection temperature are higher for the samples after annealing. SEM micrographs show the mechanism of breakage of the glass fibers and damage of the matrix material. During observation of the fractures, no significant fiber pullout from the polymer matrix was noted. This demonstrates the good adhesion of the glass fiber to the matrix.