Tensile properties of short-glass-fiber- and short-carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites

Composites of polypropylene (PP) reinforced with short glass fibers (SGF) and short carbon fibers (SCF) were prepared with extrusion compounding and injection molding techniques. The tensile properties of these composites were investigated. It was noted that an increase in fiber volume fraction led to a decrease in mean fiber length as observed previously. The relationship between mean fiber length and fiber volume fraction was described by a proper exponential function with an offset. The tensile strength and modulus of SGF/PP and SCF/PP composites were studied taking into account the combined effect of fiber volume fraction and mean fiber length. The results about the composite strength and modulus were interpreted using the modified rule of mixtures equations by introducing two fiber efficiency factors, respectively, for the composite strength and modulus. It was found that for both types of composites the fiber efficiency factors decreased with increasing fiber volume fraction and the more brittle fiber namely carbon fiber corresponded to the lower fiber efficiency factors than glass fiber. Meanwhile, it was noted that the fiber efficiency factor for the composite modulus was much higher than that for the composite strength. Moreover, it was observed that the tensile failure strain of the composites decreased with the increase of fiber volume fraction. An empirical but good relationship of the composite failure strain with fiber volume fraction, fiber length and fiber radius was established.