Study of the Effect of Alumina (Al2O3) Filler on the Viscoelastic Behavior and Mechanical Properties of LDPE

Abstract

Viscoelastic behavior is a very important behavior in the process of Characterization to polymers therefore This paper investigates the viscoelastic behavior of LDPE reinforced by (10,20,30 and 40%) weight fraction of AL2O3 powder, the two mixing process were used the first is dry mixing mechanical the (ball mill) and second is fusion process to mixes the materials by the twin extruder, to mixes, the LDPE with the AL2O3.to obtain the new modified composite material (LDPE/ AL2O3), the sample was prepared by using a standard pressing die, The different testing equipment was used to conduct these test, creep test (WP 600), and Tensile test(WDW-5E ), and impact test(DIN EN 10045/DIN), with a constant temperature of 20 °C. SEM was used To know surface morphology for The test samples, The creep test was also performed for the sample that presented the best creep resistance at temperatures of 30, 40, and 50 °C. It was concluded that higher values of creep resistance and tensile strength occur at lower reinforcement ratios of alumina. The strengthened composite 10% alumina Made the best performance in creep resistance and the highest tensile strength and which amounted to (10MPa) while the creep performance decreased with the increase in temperature, and 50 °C was the highest temperature the sample could withstand before collapsing. Young's modulus values increased with increasing alumina enhancement, as 30% alumina recorded the highest Young's modulus value, which amounted to (200 MPa). The impact resistance values increased with the introduction of 20% alumina to value (16.835KJ / M2) and continued to rise until it reached its peak in value (23.825KJ / M2) at 30% alumina.