Fibridization Effect on the Mechanical Behavior of PA66/PTFE Blend Based Fibrous Composites

The use of natural fiber along with the glass fiber in polymer composites is one of the present material combinations for automotive industries. This article deals with the hybrid effect of 10 wt% short glass fibers (SGF) and 10 wt% short basalt fibers (SBF) on the mechanical behavior of 80 wt% PA66/20 wt% Teflon (PA66/PTFE) blend. These composite materials were prepared by melt mixing method, by using twin screw extruder followed by injection molding. The mechanical performance of the composite materials was tested as per ASTM method. The experimentally determined mechanical properties were tensile behavior, flexural behavior and impact behavior. Hardness and density of the blended composites were also studied. Experimental results revealed that the effect of hybrid short fibers on the blend greatly enhanced the mechanical behavior. Increase in tensile strength and flexural strength by 33% and 57% respectively and 6% reduction in elongation was exhibited by the blend due to the hybrid effect of fibers. The synergistic effect between the fibers and the matrix blend improved the mechanical behavior. The strain rate of the hybrid composites was deteriorated due to the hybrid effect. The enhancement of load carrying capacity by 17.35, 8.5 and 36% was exhibited by SGF, SBF and hybrid fiber filled PA66/PTFE blend composites respectively. The impact strength of the hybrid composites was reduced due to the brittle nature of the hybrid filled composites. Fiber fracture, fiber pull out and fiber misalignment were the certain mechanisms observed during mechanical performance. The fractured surfaces were analyzed through Scanning Electron Microscopy photographs.