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Effect of glass bead size and content on the thermomechanical properties of polyethylene composites
Author(s) -
Chimeni Désiré Y.,
Vallée Étienne,
Sorelli Luca,
Rodrigue Denis
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.24788
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , low density polyethylene , polyethylene , compression molding , ultimate tensile strength , particle size , composite number , dynamic mechanical analysis , creep , izod impact strength test , polymer , mold , chemistry
This work investigates the effect glass bead size (80 < Φ < 120 μm and 170 < Φ < 325 μm) and content (0, 20, 40, and 60 wt%) on the properties of virgin and recycled polyethylene (LDPE) composites. In particular, the composites were produced by simple dry‐blending and compression molding. From the samples produced, a morphological analysis was used to explain the properties of the composites in terms of physical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The results showed that the main failure was particle pull‐out due to poor interfacial adhesion. As expected, the density, tensile modulus, and storage modulus increased with glass content, while creep and recovery substantially decreased. In all cases, smaller particle sizes had a more important effect on the composite behavior due to their higher specific surface area. Overall, significant difference was observed between virgin and recycled LDPE due to the presence of contamination in the latter. Nevertheless, the results show that virgin polyethylene can be substituted by recycled polyethylene reinforced by glass particles, especially when smaller sizes are used and these materials can find applications as indoor or outdoor floor tiles. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1826–1836, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers