The effect of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical properties of highly oriented polypropylene tapes and all-polypropylene composites

B. Alcock, N.O. Cabrera, N.M. Barkoula, C.T. Reynolds, L.E. Govaert, A.A.J.M. Peijs

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

145 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The creation of highly oriented, co-extruded polypropylene (PP) tapes allows the production of recyclable "all-polypropylene" (all-PP) composites, with a large temperature processing window and a high volume fraction of highly oriented PP (>90%). The wholly thermoplastic nature of these ‘self-reinforced’ composites implies that the mechanical performance may vary with temperature. This paper describes the mechanical performance of all-PP composites by measuring the mechanical properties of highly oriented PP tapes and subsequent all-PP composites at a range of temperatures by static and dynamic testing methods. The time–temperature equivalence of all-PP composites is investigated by creating mastercurves of dynamic modulus and tensile strength. A comparison of the performance of these composites with commercial glass fibre reinforced polypropylene composites is included.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2061-2070
JournalComposites Science and Technology
Volume67
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2007

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