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Document Type

Original Study

Abstract

In this paper, the effect of different temperatures (60 °C and 5 °C) between winter and summer in Iraq on the properties of PP that was filled with CaCO3 particles has been studied. The effects of CaCO3 particles with different percentages (8 wt.%, 16 wt.%, and 24 wt.%) on the mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties have been investigated. A twin-screw extruder was used for the preparation of the composite PP/ CaCO3. Mechanical properties such as tensile strength, elastic modulus, elongation at break, and impact strength were studied. Both Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were used to evaluate thermal behavior and the presence of interactions. Results showed that the mechanical properties (tensile strength, elastic modulus, elongation at break) were decreased with the increase of CaCO3 content, and the reduction in these properties was much higher as the temperature increased from 5 °C to 60 °C due to the poor interaction between PP and CaCO3, while the impact strength improved only at 8% of CaCO3 due to the good homogeneity and distribution of CaCO3. FTIR analysis shows the absence of chemical interactions. DSC results showed that both the melting Tm and crystallization Tc temperatures improved. Rheological results showed that the melt flow rate MFR was increased at both test temperatures, 190 °C and 230 °C, and had its highest value at 16 wt. % of CaCO3.

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