Mechanical properties of particulate filled polymers

The mechanical properties of several types of inorganic fillers were investigated in a number of different thermoplastic polymers. The fillers included minerals, such as talc and silicon carbide, and metals, such as aluminum flake and stainless steel fibers. The polymers included General Electric's Noryl, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer, polypropylene, and modified polypropylene. The talc and some of the aluminum flake were treated with coupling agents to improve interfacial adhesion to the polymers. The results showed that the modulus of the filled polymers was a function only of the concentration of filler used up to 40 volume percent filler. The tensile strength of the filled compositions depended very strongly on the degree of interfacial bond developed between the polymer and the filler. The interfacial bond strength depended on the effectiveness of the coupling agents and the inherent wetting ability of the polymer. Of the polymers investigated in this study, Noryl showed the greatest degree of inherent wetting to inorganic fillers. Chemical modification of polypropylene also resulted in greater adhesion to fillers. The impact strength of filled compounds had an even more complex response, because, in addition to the concentration of the filler, and strength of the polymerfiller interface, it depends on the mechanism of crack propagation.

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