Effect of Marble Powder and Dolomite on the Mechanical Properties and the Thermal Stability of Poly(vinyl chloride)

The polymers are materials whose proprieties can be improved by adding various additives such as the fillers which can be mineral or organic compounds. In this study, we are interested in the possibility of improving the mechanical proprieties and the thermal stability of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) by adding local mineral fillers i.e., powder of marble and the dolomite. The composites PVC/dolomite and PVC/marble (fillers: 0, 5, 10, 15 and 20 phr) have been prepared. The test-tubes have been made up of the different composites through three stages i.e., blending, pressing and cutting up. These test-tubes have been then put under mechanical tests (tensile test and impact IZOD) and a thermo test (Vicat softening temperatures) whereas, the thermo stability of various components has been evaluated by the dehydrochlorination. The results have shown that there is a notable improvement of mechanical and thermo proprieties which is interpreted by the increase of the Vicat softening temperatures and an extension of stability time.