Effects of Process Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Glass Fabric Reinforced Polypropylene Composites

The present study investigates the effects of process parameters such as fabric structure, fabric orientation and compatibilizer concentration on the mechanical properties of fabric reinforced polypropylene composites. Two types of glass fabric reinforced composites with two different stacking sequences were prepared by compressing molding. The composites were prepared with and without compatibilizer for the purpose of analyzing interfacial-bonding. The composites were investigated in terms of tensile, flexural and impact strength for evaluation of the effects of the process parameters. The factorial approach is used to design the experimental layout. The test results revealed that Type-2 fabric reinforced composite in [0-90](4) orientation with 8 wt% compatibilizer possesses better mechanical properties. Tensile, flexural and impact strength were increased by 106%, 235% and 100%, respectively. Analysis of variance was used to identify the most significant factors which would affect the performance of composites. Morphological study explored the presence of strong interfacial-bonding between the materials.