Open AccessEffect of metallic fillers on the hardness of polystyrene composites: An experimental investigation
Author(s) -
Sulyman A. Abdulkareem,
Mutiu K. Amosa,
Adewale George Adeniyi,
M M Magaji,
R A Ajibola
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
iop conference series. materials science and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1757-899X
pISSN - 1757-8981
DOI - 10.1088/1757-899x/640/1/012058
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , composite number , ultimate tensile strength , aluminium , polystyrene , metal , particle (ecology) , particle size , metal matrix composite , filler (materials) , izod impact strength test , metallurgy , polymer , oceanography , chemistry , geology
In this study, the effects of composite thickness (2.5-7.5 mm), filler content (15-45%w/w) and particle sizes (20-100 µm) on the hardness of Polystyrene metal composites were examined. The metals comparatively considered were aluminium particles and iron fillings. It was observed that smaller metal particle sizes in the composite matrix and greater filler proportions will lead to improvement in hardness. Composite thickness did not have a significant effect on the hardness of the metal composites. PS-Al composite is harder than PS-Fe composite with the optimal hardness being 43.7 and 11 respectively. The factor levels that will optimise hardness for PS-Al composite are thickness of 7.5 mm, filler of 39% and particle size of 20 µm. For PS-Fe composites they are thickness of 5.9 mm, filler of 45% and particle size of 34µm. The metallic composites (PS-Al and PS-Fe) exhibited contrasting mechanical strength when viewed under SEM with a homogenous micro-structure of high interfacial interaction between the metal particles (Aluminium) and the PS resin matrix while the PS-Fe metallic composite under micro-structural analysis displayed relatively moderate to low tensile strength and hardness with weak interfacial interaction between the Iron particles and the PS resin.