Tensile characteristics of CGF/PP composites with different feed-stock lengths produced by injection molding

Osama, Mahmoud; Selmy, AbdelAziz; Abdelhaleem, Ayman; Megahed, Ahmed

doi:10.21608/eijest.2022.147314.1164

Tensile characteristics of CGF/PP composites with different feed-stock lengths produced by injection molding

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Mechanical Engineering Department, Higher Technological Institute, Tenth of Ramadan city, Al-Sharqia, Egypt

² Mechanical Design and Production Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Zagazig University, P.O. Box: 44519, Zagazig, Al-Sharqia, Egypt.

10.21608/eijest.2022.147314.1164

Abstract

Currently; Products fabricated from plastics represent a big marketplace proportion; especially thermoplastics which are the foremost part of this marketplace proportion. injection molding is the most common approach for producing thermoplastic where they could be shaped into molds. In this study; Polypropylene was reinforced using different weight fractions of chopped glass fibers. The composites of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene were produced using an injection molding machine. Polypropylene was mechanically mixed with glass fiber with different chopped lengths and weight fractions before injection molding then the resulting composites were smashed and re-injected for the sake of uniform fiber distribution. Burn-out tests were made to measure the actual weight fraction and the resulting fiber lengths. The results showed a decrease in the weight fraction accompanied by a massive decrease in fiber lengths. After performing a group of tensile tests on the specimens; the specimens' strengths were enhanced with the addition of chopped glass fibers and unfortunately, these enhancements vanished as extra chopped glass fibers were introduced. More air voids were observed in specimens with higher percentages of chopped glass fibers as scanning electron microscope micrographs and voids measurements showed. The air voids weakened the composite resulting in the reduction of tensile stress. The tensile strain of the specimens was reduced once chopped glass fibers were added to the neat polypropylene.

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