Flexural strength improvement of PP/EPDM blends

Abstract

Reinforced additives, i.e., talc. Clay, carbon black, glass fiber and HDPE were used to improve in mechanical properties of PP/EPDM blends. The composites were prepared by mixing various amounts of PP, EPDM, reinforced additives and 0.2 wt% antioxidant on two-roll mills and subjected to compression molding to obtain the specimens for testing. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, differential scanning colorimeter (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study elemental materials, melting temperature and dispersion of the composite, respectively. In the first part, the mexhanical properties of composite containing various amounts of PP and EPDM with talc used as the main reinforced additive were measured, It indicated that addition of EPDM increased in the impact strength (NI) while decreased flexural strength (FS), melt flow index (MFI) and hardness. The second part involved various types and amounts of reinforced additives that affected mechanicao properties. It indicated that addition of talc gave specific improvement of FS and hardness while clay provided almost no improvement on properties. Carbon black, which has smaller particle size than dispersed phase, increased specifically in NI. Glass fiber gave highest FS but its MFI decreased. The best composite comparable in properties to the commercial resin composed of 90 wt% EPDM and reinforced additives at 30 wt% tale and 15 wt% carbon black of mixed PP and EPDM.