CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The mechanical performance of composite materials has been related to a wide range of factors. The complexity of analysis lays on the fact that any single variation normally affects many characteristics or properties of the composite material. For this reason, different theoretical and experimental characterizations should be considered. In this work the internal structure, interactions and fracture surfaces of PP-based composites reinforced with quartz particles are investigated. Particle size distributions, rheological measurements andmultifractal spectra suggest favorable filler dispersion into the PP matrix. A yield strength model and rheological data evidence low internal interactions. In addition, these composites characteristics could promote the effective activation of energy consumption mechanismsimproving the material toughness. The fracture surfaces analysis allows correlating fractography, multifractal spectra and material toughness. However, the experimentalprocedure of multifractal theory should be improved to define the most sensitive parameter for fractographic studies.