Post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate and polyamide 66 blends and corresponding short glass fiber reinforced composites

Blends of bottle-grade post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and virgin polyamide 66 (PA66), over the complete composition range, and corresponding short glass fiber (SGF) reinforced composites were investigated. These materials were compounded in a twin-screw extruder and injection molded as standard specimens. Morphological investigation of the composites revealed that the short glass fibers have a good size distribution and are homogenously dispersed within a polymeric matrix. The PET/PA66/SGF composites showed good mechanical performance in flexural, tensile and impact tests demonstrating that the addition of SGFs to PET/PA66 blends is an interesting approach to obtaining new thermoplastic composites. In addition, this represents a potential application for post-consumer PET, an abundant and cheap material, in the well-established market of PA66/SGF composites, which are widely used in technical parts requiring high mechanical and thermal properties.

[1]  R. N. Baxi,et al.  Mechanical, thermal, and structural characterization of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(butylene terephthalate) blend systems by the addition of postconsumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) , 2010 .

[2]  J. Mano,et al.  Morphology and mechanical properties of injection molded poly(ethylene terephthalate) , 2004 .

[3]  A. J. Zattera,et al.  Composites of Recycled PET Reinforced with Short Glass Fiber , 2012 .

[4]  J. Velasco,et al.  The Influence of Injection-Molding Variables and Nucleating Additives on Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Short Glass Fiber/PET Composites , 2002 .

[5]  M. M. C. Forte,et al.  Polyamide worm gear: manufacturing and performance , 2012 .

[6]  A. Pegoretti,et al.  Recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) and its short glass fibres composites: effects of hygrothermal aging on the thermo-mechanical behaviour , 2004 .

[7]  B. Ghorashi,et al.  Mixing of glass fibers with nylon 6,6 , 1999 .

[8]  A. Zadhoush,et al.  Investigation of the effect of SSP in stabilizing the structure of condensation polymer blends via rheological measurements , 2011 .

[9]  Ayse Aytac,et al.  Effect of short fiber reinforcement on the properties of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/poly(ethylene naphthalate) blends , 2013 .

[10]  J. C. H. Affdl,et al.  The Halpin-Tsai Equations: A Review , 1976 .

[11]  A. Kelly,et al.  Tensile properties of fibre-reinforced metals: Copper/tungsten and copper/molybdenum , 1965 .

[12]  W. Guo,et al.  Reactive extrusion of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) with polycarbonate by addition of chain extender , 2007 .

[13]  Souheng Wu,et al.  Calculation of interfacial tension in polymer systems , 2007 .

[14]  M. Tian,et al.  Toughening of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate)/glass fiber blends with ethylene–butyl acrylate–glycidyl methacrylate copolymer and maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene–octene rubber , 2008 .

[15]  James Thomason,et al.  The influence of fibre properties of the performance of glass-fibre-reinforced polyamide 6,6 , 1999 .

[16]  A. Zadhoush,et al.  The influence of epoxy resin on the morphological and rheological properties of PET/PA66 blend , 2012, Rheologica Acta.

[17]  A. J. Zattera,et al.  Relationship between processing method and microstructural and mechanical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/short glass fiber composites , 2008 .

[18]  P. F. Onyon.  Polymer Handbook , 1972, Nature.

[19]  J. Eguiazábal,et al.  Structure and mechanical properties of polyamide-6,6/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blends , 2004 .