Tensile properties of polypropylene flame-retardant composites

The polypropylene (PP) flame-retardant composites filled with aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)(3)), magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)(2)), zinc borate (ZB), nanometer calcium carbonate (nano-CaCO3), and polyolefin elastomer (POE) were prepared using a twin-screw extruder, and the tensile properties were measured at room temperature by means of an electronic universal test machine (Model CMT4104) in this paper, to identify the influence of the flame-retardant content on the tensile properties. The results showed that the tensile strength decreased roughly nonlinearly while the tensile elongation at break decreased nonlinearly with increasing the flame-retardant weight fraction. The Young's modulus and the tensile fracture strength increased nonlinearly with an addition of the flame-retardant weight fraction. The tensile ductility of PP/Al(OH)(3)/Mg(OH)(2)/ZB/Nano-CaCO3/POE composite was the best in the three kinds of the composite systems. Moreover, good agreement was showed between the predictions and the measurements of the tensile strength.