Impact fracture behaviour of biomass ash thermoplastic composites

S. G. PARDO, C. BERNAL, M. J. ABAD, J. CANO, J. AURREKOETXEA, A. AGIRREGOMEZKORTA

Budapest, Hungría

Conferencia; European Conference on Composite Materials; 2010

European Society of Composite Materials

Fly ash has been incorporated into polymers to improve properties as well as to reduce costs and to obtain more environmentally friendly materials. In this study, fly ashes are solid industrial wastes produced as the result of the wood industry combustion. Impact fracture behaviour of PP/ash composites with different ash content was studied through out-of-plane biaxial impact experiments on disks specimens. The impact fracture toughness was studied through SENB specimens too. The effect of a silane treatment on ash particles and the introduction of an olefin-block copolymer (OBC) in the composites formulation on the fracture behaviour were also analysed. Treatment of ash with silane led to composites with slighted higher impact fracture parameter values respect to PP/raw ash composites whereas, the incorporation of an olefin-block copolymer (OBC) led to a significant improvement in the material impact fracture behaviour. Morphology/impact property relationships and an explanation of the toughening mechanisms were studied by comparing the impact properties with micrographs of fracture surfaces.