Characterization of the mechanical and thermal properties of rape short natural-fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites

In this study, the effects of filler amounts were studied on the mechanical and thermal properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polystyrene (PS) and polyoxymethylene (POM) polymers reinforced with short rape fibers. HDPE-rape, POM-rape and PS-rape fiber composite materials were prepared with different fiber contents and their tensile, flexural, Izod impact and TGA/DTA properties were examined. When tensile and Izod impact properties were compared, it was observed that an increase in the amount of filling in HDPE-based composites did not cause any significant changes in these peoperties, while they were decreased for POM- and PS-based composites. On the contrary to tensile and impact strengths, when the three-point flexural properties were examined, it was observed that the strength values of all these materials increased with increasing the amount of fillers. However, a pronounced increase was observed in the three-point flexural strength of the HDPE-based composite materials. The flexural strength of 30 wt% rape-reinforced HDPE composite was found to be twice that of the pure HDPE. The results of TGA and DTA analyses revealed that the reinforcement element started to burn before the matrix material and therefore burning was delayed in these thermoplastics. As a result, the mechanical properties of HDPE composite materials improved with rape reinforcement. In this way, by using approximately 30 wt% natural filling material in a polymeric matrix, an environmentally friendly material, as well as, significant advantages in cost can be obtained. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].