MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF BASALT FIBRE REINFORCED PP/PA BLENDS

Abstract

Short basalt fibre (BF) reinforced polypropylene/polyamide (PP/PA) blends were prepared by homogenization of the components in a twin-screw extruder followed by injection molding. In order to determine their static and dynamic mechanical properties tests have been performed on composites with different PA (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt\%) and basalt fibre (0, 10, and 20 wt\%) contents. Composite properties such as tensile and flexural strength, stiffness and fracture toughness have been calculated. It has been realized that the composite structure is very sensitive to the ratio of PA content. In case of small PA content (10-20 wt\%), PA and basalt fibre have been experienced to form a kind of random network structure inside the PP matrix. This way could be improving the mechanical properties of the composite despite the relatively short fibre length. These results have been supported by acoustic emission (AE) tests and scanning electron (SEM) micrographs.