Continuous-glass-fibre-reinforced polypropylene composites : I. Influence of maleic-anhydride-modified polypropylene on mechanical properties

This study investigates the influence of maleicanhydride-modified polypropylene (m-PP) on monotonic mechanical properties of continuous-glass-fibre-reinforced polypropylene (PP) composites. Maleicanhydride-modified polypropylene was added to the PP homopolymer to improve the adhesion between the matrix and the glass fibre. Three-point bending tests were performed on 0° and 90° unidirectional glass-fibre/PP laminates with various weight fractions of m-PP in the PP matrix. These tests showed an increase in both longitudinal and transverse flexural strength up to 10 wt% m-PP, whereas at higher weight fractions of m-PP a decrease in flexural strength was observed. No significant influence of m-PP on composite stiffness was observed. Additional mechanical tests on unidirectional glass/PP composites with 0 wt% and 10 wt% m-PP showed only a small increase in fibre-dominated properties such as longitudinal tensile strength and strain, whereas composite properties that are governed by the interphase, such as transverse, shear and compressive strength, showed significant increases as a result of matrix modification and an enhanced interaction between the glass fibres and the PP matrix.