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Preparation and characterization of poly(vinyl chloride)–continuous carbon fiber composites
Author(s) -
Ráthy Istvánné,
Kuki Ákos,
Borda Jenö,
Deák György,
Zsuga Miklós,
Marossy Kálmán,
Kéki Sándor
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.33617
Subject(s) - composite material , materials science , vinyl chloride , plasticizer , dynamic mechanical analysis , modulus , polyvinyl chloride , glass transition , scanning electron microscope , composite number , young's modulus , polymer , copolymer
In this article, we report on the preparation and characterization of novel poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)–carbon fiber (CF) composites. We achieved the reinforcement of PVC matrices with different plasticizer contents using unidirectional continuous CFs by applying a warm press and a cylinder press for the preparation of the PVC–CF composites. We achieved considerable reinforcement of PVC even at a relatively low CF content; for example, the maximum stress (σ max ) of the PVC–CF composite at a 3% CF content was found to be 1.5–2 times higher than that of the PVC matrix. There were great differences among the Young's modulus values of the pure PVC and PVC–CF composites matrices. The absolute Young's modulus values were in the range 1100–1300 MPa at a 3% CF content; these values were almost independent of the plasticizer content. In addition, we found a linear relationship between σ max and the CF content and also recognized a linear variation of the Young's modulus with the CF content. The adhesion of CF to the PVC matrix was strong in each case, as concluded from the strain–stress curves and the light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy investigations. The mechanical properties of the PVC–CF composites with randomly oriented short (10 mm) fibers were also investigated. At low deformations, the stiffness of the composites improved with increasing CF content. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) was used to determine the glass‐transition temperature ( T g ) of the PVC–CF composites. The high increase in the Young's modulus entailed only a mild T g increase. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012