Effect of Mixed Size Particles Reinforcing on the Thermal and Dynamic Mechanical Properties of Al2O3/PPS Composites

Thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composites that were reinforced with different sized alumina (Al2O3) particles were studied. These composites were manufactured with two different sizes of Al2O3 particles 1 and 63 mm, using microcompounding and injection molding. Monosized Al2O3 particles reinforced up to 25 wt% loading content and mixed size Al2O3 particles reinforced at 15 wt% loading content as following particle weight proportions: 75% x 63 mu m + 25% x 1 mu m, 50% x 63 mu m + 50% x 1 mu m, 25% x 63 mu m + 75% x 1 mu m. Particle distribution investigations were performed by microcomputerized tomography (micro-CT). Thermal properties were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) methods and also dynamic mechanical properties were investigated by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) method. The results showed that mixed size Al2O3 particle reinforced composites showed a great enhancement in dynamic mechanical properties without significant change in thermal properties. It was concluded that mixed size particles showed a great synergy to give better results compared with monosized particle reinforced composites. (C) 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers