Mechanical and morphological properties of unsaturated polyester resin composites reinforced with recycled PET fibers of varying lengths
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to deal with both the development and mechanical investigations of unsaturated polyester matrix (UPR) composites containing recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers as new fillers.
Design/methodology/approach
UPR/PET fibers composites have been developed as mats by incorporating 5, 8, 13 and 18 parts per hundred of rubber (phr) of 6-, 10- and 15-mm length PET fibers from the recycling of postconsumer bottles. The mechanical and physical properties of the composites were investigated as a function of fiber content and length. A significant increase in stress at break and in ultimate stress (sr) were observed for composites reinforced with 5 and 8 phr of 15-mm length PET fibers. The Izod impact strength of UPR/mat PET fiber composites as a function of fiber rate and length showed that the 5 and 8 phr composites for the 15-mm length PET fiber have the optimal mechanical properties 13.55 and 10.50 Kj/m2, respectively. The morphological study showed that the strong adhesion resulting from the affinity of the PET fiber for the UPR matrix. The ductile fracture of materials reinforced with 5 and 8 phr is confirmed by the fiber deformation and fracture surface roughness.
Findings
This study concluded that the PET fiber enhances the properties of composites, a good correlation was observed between the results of the mechanical tests and the structural analysis revealing that for the lower concentrations, the PET fibers are well dispersed into the resin, but entanglements are evidenced when the fiber content increases.
Originality/value
It can be shown from scanning electron microscopy micrographs that the fabrication technique produced composites with good interfacial adhesion between PET fibers and UPR matrix.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Financial interests: Authors Ouided Dehas, Laidi Babouri, Yasmina Biskri and Jean-François Bardeau declare they have no financial interests.
Author contributions: All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Ouided Dehas, Laidi Babouri and Jean-François. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Yasmina Biskri and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Citation
Dehas, O., Babouri, L., Biskri, Y. and Bardeau, J.-F. (2023), "Mechanical and morphological properties of unsaturated polyester resin composites reinforced with recycled PET fibers of varying lengths", World Journal of Engineering, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJE-07-2023-0246
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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