RHEOLOGICAL, MECHANICAL, AND THERMAL-PROPERTIES OF GLASS-REINFORCED POLYETHYLENES

The rheological, mechanical, and thermal properties of glass-filled locally produced polyethylenes have been investigated. Low- and high-density polyethylenes are used with glass beads (GB) or short glass fibers (GF) ranging in concentration from 0 to 25 wt%. Rheometry results proved that the addition of GB to LDPE or HDPE increases the melt shear viscosity. The same effect is observed when GF is added to LDPE, while a decrease in viscosity is found when GF is added to HDPE. The addition of glass fillers to LDPE gave a slight increase in break strength, but as glass content increased, the break elongation was decreased. Besides, the inclusion of glass with HDPE did not improve the tensile properties. The hardness in general showed a small increase with increasing glass content. Vicat softening temperature (VST) values were slightly reduced by addition of GB and GF into LDPE, while an increase in VST values was noticed by testing different HDPE-GF/GB systems.