Mechanical and rheological properties of polypropylene copolymer wood flour composites

This article presents study of mechanical and rheological properties of Polypropylene copolymer (PP-cp) filled with wood flour (WF) & effect of compatibilizers on properties of these composites by interfacial adhesion. WF filler loadings from 10% to 50% by weight were used. The effects of (i) filler loadings (ii) compatibilizer (iii) shear stress or shear rates on melt viscosity and viscoelasticity and other properties were studied. These parameters and rheological properties are co-related to mechanical properties and morphology of composites. All these properties were studied for composites that are noncompatibilized and compatibilized with maleated PP (PP-g-MA) and Ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer (EAA) respectively. It can be concluded that composites compatibilized with PP-g-MA show over all better properties.