Long Term Durability Of Wood-Flour-Polypropylene-Elastomer Composites

Abstract

Investigations on the long-term durability of wood flour-propylene-elastomer composites at static loading and high stresses are reported. This is an extremely important characteristic that makes possible the fairly accurate prediction of the service life of polymeric articles. The long-term strength is investigated under conditions of uniaxial tension of polypropylene, elastified with 10% polyisoprene, and polypropylene, filled with 5% and 10% wood flour. It was established that the elastomer and the filler change the fracture mechanism of the polymer in opposite directions. This result oriented the work towards investigations on the durability of polypropylene, elastified with polyisoprene and filled with wood flour simultaneously. The presence of polyisoprene in the wood flour-filled polypropylene increases the elasticity of the composition, and at the same time retards the processes of ageing.