| Abstract: | The effect of adding rubber on the properties of glass‐fibre‐filled nylon 66 was investigated in this study. Styrene‐Ethylene‐Butylene‐Styrene and Ethylene‐Propylene elastomers grafted with maleic anhydride (SEBS‐g‐MA and EP‐g‐MA, respectively) were used to toughen the nylon‐matrix composites. Impact strength and elongation at break were found to increase with increasing rubber content, but flexural strength, tensile strength and stiffness decreased; however, by adding moderate amounts of rubber to glass‐fibre‐reinforced nylon 66, a desirable balance between stiffness and toughness of the material may be obtained. For example, the addition of 10 wt.% of SEBS‐g‐MA to nylon 66 with 23.62 wt.% glass fibre loading resulted in 28.3% and 167% increase in tensile strength and impact strength of the composites, respectively, when compared to neat nylon 66. This suggests that combining both glass fibres and rubber with nylon 66 is a useful strategy to optimize and enhance the properties of nylon 66. The procedure may be used to recycle polyamides, in general, and to develop components for under‐the‐hood automotive applications, in particular. |
