In this article, mechanical and fracture properties of two types of nanoparticles, namely fumed silica (FS) and halloysite nanotube filled polypropylene (PP) toughened with two types of thermoplastic elastomers (TPOs), namely ethylene-based TPO (ETPO) and propylene-based TPO (PTPO) were investigated. A full factorial design was exploited to clarify the influence of each factor as well as its interaction on outcomes. The essential work of fracture (EWF) approach was utilized to study the effect of each factor on fracture behavior. The addition of TPO enhanced the elongation at break and non-EWF by 62% and 40%, in turn. In addition, the tensile strength, modulus, and EWF increased by 8%, 34%, and 7%, respectively, by increasing the nanoparticles up to 1 wt%. The blend nanocomposite with 10 wt% of PTPO and 1 wt% of FS was selected as the best stiffnesstoughness-strength equivalence based on optimization results. Additionally, the R 2 extracted from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and plots of normal probability indicated good agreement between the experimental data and for foreseen one using full factorial models.

Thermoplastic elastomeric nanocomposites have a wide range of applications in the automotive, medical, electronics, and energy sectors. Good mechanical and fracture performances are typically needed to reach the desired properties for the applications. In this study, tensile and fracture properties of exfoliated graphite (EG) filled PP toughened with ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) are examined. Accordingly, four levels of EVA (0, 10, 20, and 30 wt.%) and EG (0, 1, 3, and 5 wt.%) are utilized. The full factorial design is employed to explain the effect of independent parameters and their interaction on responses. The essential work of fracture (EWF) methodology is also employed to investigate the fracture behavior of the blend nanocomposites. By increasing EVA, the elongation at break and non-EWF are increased by 188% and 75%, in succession. Moreover, the tensile modulus is improved up to 11% by increasing EG. The compound with 10 wt.% EVA and 1 wt.% EG has the best toughness-strength-stiffness balance based on the optimization results.