A comparative study on the mechanical and flammability properties of aluminum hydroxide and hollow glass beads?filled polypropylene composites

Effects of hollow glass beads and aluminum hydroxide on flame retardancy of polypropylene composites.Lightweight polypropylene (PP) composites with high flame retardancy and high thermal stability were required for automobile, electrical and electronic applications. Aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) and two hollow glass beads (HGB) were selected as fillers for polypropylene composite fabrication. The incorporation of 10?wt% HGB (iM30K) into the PP matrix leads to a 3.5% density reduction, and 10?wt% Al(OH)3 increased the density by 5.4%. The cone calorimeter test (CCT) showed the lowest PHRR of 536.6?kW/m2 and peak smoke production rate of 0.061?m2/s was recorded for 10?wt% HGB (iM30K) loading. The formulation with 10?wt% Al(OH)3 loading had the lowest flammability; however, the Al(OH)3 content was not sufficient for a consistent flame?resistant performance. The incorporation of HGB and Al(OH)3 resulted in an enhancement of both tensile and flexural modulus; however, it was observed that the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths exhibited a decrement with an increase in the concentration of HGB or Al(OH)3. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results indicated that at the same filler content, HGB (S60HS) filled PP composites have the highest thermal stability among the prepared composites.HighlightsEffects of HGB and Al(OH)3 on flame retardancy and thermal stability of PP.Small size HGB (iM30K) exhibited superior smoke suppression performance.Effects of HGB on density reduction of PP based composites.Mechanical properties of HGB or Al(OH)3 filled PP were investigated.The SEM images revealed the breakage and dispersion of HGB in the composites.

» Publication Date: 15/09/2024

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This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement Nº 768737


                   




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