Study of morphology and mechanical properties of PP/EPDM/clay nanocomposites prepared using twin‐screw extruder and friction stir process

Abstract

In this paper, PP/EPDM nanocomposites with 5 wt% nanoclay are fabricated by friction stir processing (FSP) and compared to the results obtained via a conventional twin screw extruder (TSE). Also, the effects of process parameters of these process on morphology and mechanical properties of this nanocomposites are investigated using Taguchi analysis. The prepared PP/EPDM/clay nanocomposites by two methods were characterized using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical property tests. Comparison of the results of these methods indicated that PP/EPDM/clay nanocomposite fabricated by FSP had a better dispersion of nanoclay and mechanical properties. The results show that by addition of 5 wt% nanoclay to the base material, the tensile strength and tensile modulus of FSP sample are 12% and 8% higher than the TSE sample. The TGA results shows that, the temperature at 50% weight loss for PP/EPDM blend is 382°C. While this temperature for TSE and FSP samples are 395°C and 406°C, respectively. Under optimal conditions of rotational speed of 1,200 rpm, traverse speed of 50 mm/min, shoulder temperature of 100°C and number passes of 3, simultaneous maximization of tensile strength (19.35 MPa), tensile modulus (643 MPa), impact strength (63 J/m) and elongation at break (101%) can be obtained. POLYM. COMPOS., 40:3306–3314, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers

Microstructure and mechanical properties of PA6/NBR nanocomposites fabricated by friction stir processing

“…These criteria show that the fracture process of nanocomposite samples in the plane stress condition occurred. Therefore, Figure 4 shows that the application of the EWF theory in PA6/NBR/Clay nanocomposites is validated [2,16].…”

“…This illustrates that the clay platelets in the matrix were exfoliated excellently in this sample. According to the researches, the size of clay particles on PP/EPDM thermoplastic elastomer reduced due to the higher rotational speed [1,2]. On the other hand, the TPO5-2 sample exhibited an apparent peak at 2𝜃=2.3° (d= 38.36 A°).…”

“…In this method, the input variables with more F-value and less P-value (less 5% with 95% confidence level) have the most effect on the output variables. Therefore, they can be selected as the main variables with regard to their roles in the experimental data [2,18]. The ANOVA table for the input and output variable are shown in Table 4.…”

“…Thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are defined as a collection of copolymers (such as plastic and rubber) that consist of materials with both elastic (related to rubber phase) and strength (related to plastic phase) properties [1,2]. They have a wide application in industry due to their ability to stretch, to moderate elongation and return to their near original shape, excellent thermal, mechanical, and chemical resistances [3,4].…”

PP/POE thermoplastic elastomer prepared by dynamic vulcanization and its flame retardant modification

“…When the content of DCP was 0.3% to 0.9%, the regular cross-linked EPDM particles were uniformly distributed in the PP matrix. Nakhaei et al 8 prepared PP/EPDM nanocomposites containing 5% nanoclay by friction stir method. Compared with the elastomer prepared by traditional screw extrusion method, the tensile strength and tensile modulus were increased by 12% and 8%.…”