An experimental investigation of properties of polyethylene reinforced with Al powders

Mechanical and physical properties, such as tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus of elasticity, Shore D hardness, melt flow rate (MFR), and electrical and thermal conductivities of composites with high density polyethylene matrix reinforced with Al powders were investigated experimentally. Measurements of the mechanical and physical properties were performed up to a reinforcing component concentration of 30% volume Al powder and compared with mathematical models from the literature. The obtained results have shown that experimental data were in good agreement with theoretical data. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation at break decreased with increasing Al powder content, which was attributed to the introduction of discontinuities in the polymer structure, and modulus of elasticity increased with increasing Al content. The composite preparation conditions allowed the formation of a random distribution of metallic particles in the polymer matrix volume for system high density polyethylene-Al (HDPE-Al). There was a cluster formation of Al particles at higher Al contents in the polymer matrix. Electrical and thermal conductivity values of HDPE-Al composites were higher than pure HDPE values.