Tensile properties of glass fibre reinforced recycled mixed plastic composites

Tensile properties of glass fibre reinforced recycled mixed plastic composites

Recently, recycled plastics have drawn much attention to the public and been increasingly used as non-structural engineering and construction components. These materials have moderate mechanical strength, good biodegradable properties and resistance to rot and insect attacks making them to be comparable with timber for light load-bearing structural applications. In terms of the environmental concern, excessive use of timber may cause serious damages to the wildlife environment. Unfortunately, the use of these plastics and their composites in the civil engineering industry is still restricted to indoor non-load bearing components due to their low stiffness and strength properties. In view of the aforementioned problem, this study investigated the tensile properties of glass fibre reinforced recycled mixed plastic composites (GMPC) as an alternative for pure recycled plastics. The matrix of the composites was made by blending recycled high-density polyethylene (rHDPE), recycled low-density polyethylene (rLDPE) and recycled polypropylene (rPP), and the reinforcement was short glass fibre. The contents of fibre for this study ranged from 10 to 30 wt.% and the composites were produced by using injection moulding technique. The tensile property test was carried out by following the ISO 527 standard. It was observed that with the addition of 30 wt% of glass fibre, tensile strength and modulus increased by 100% and 300%, respectively. However, the specimens with glass fibre became brittle and ductility was reduced. The comparison of the results of GMPC composites with virgin plastic shows that the addition of glass fibre enhances tensile properties.