Analysis of mechanical properties of injection molded short glass fibre (SGF)/calcite/ABS composites

Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), with and without calcium carbonate (calcite) particles, was used as the matrix for reinforcement with as-received short-glass fibres (were originally treated by the manufacturer) and sized short-glass fibres with two amino-silane coupling agents. The calcite particle content is 0, 11.7 and 23.5 vol. pet for the matrices. The glass fiber content is 0, 10 and 15 vol. pet. The matrix materials and corresponding composites were compounded using a twin screw extruder and dumbbell-shaped tensile bars were prepared with an injection molding process. The tensile and flexural properties as well as the unnotched and notched Charpy impact energies of short glass fibre/calcite/ABS composites were studied in this paper. The effects of fibres, fibre surface treatments and particles on these mechanical properties of the composites were discussed in detail. An important information was obtained, which is that the tensile and flexural strengths of hybrid SGF/calcite/ABS composites are the same as those of corresponding fibre composites when the ratio of the interfacial adhesion strength between particles and matrix to that between fibres and matrix is higher than certain value, otherwise the former are lower than the latter.