Thermal degradation of epoxy resin reinforced with polypropylene fibers

✍ Scribed by T. Niranjana Prabhu; Y. J. Hemalatha; V. Harish; K. Prashantha; P. Iyengar

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 262 KB
• Volume: 104
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0021-8995
• DOI: 10.1002/app.25523

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

The influence of polypropylene fibers on the thermal degradation of epoxy composites was investigated with thermogravimetric analysis. Three composites with 5, 10, or 15 wt % polypropylene fibers were prepared with epoxy as a matrix material. The polypropylene fibers, used as reinforcing materials, retarded the thermal decomposition, and increasing the weight percentage of the fiber material increased the thermal stability to a certain extent. Of the three composites, the 10 wt % polypropylene fiber/epoxy resin composite showed very good thermal stability, which was indicated by the increase in the resin decomposition temperature from 280°C for the 5 wt % polypropylene fiber/epoxy resin composite to 375°C for the 10 wt % polypropylene fiber/epoxy resin composite. The Horowitz–Metzger method was used to calculate the activation energies, and the results were tabulated. A morphological analysis was carried out with scanning electron microscopy to evaluate the dispersion of the fibers in the epoxy matrix. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 500–503, 2007