Influence of mold temperature associated with glass fiber on the mechanical and thermal properties of a (PA6/GF/MMT) nanocomposite

This work describes the second of a series of studies of the effects of injection molding conditions on the mechanical and thermal properties of Polyamide 6/Glass Fiber/Montmorillonite (PA6/GF/MMT) composites and was motivated by the lack of information about how the processing variables influence on the properties of three-phase composites containing fiber glass. By this time, the effects of the injection molding temperature associated with the fiber glass percentage on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composite are investigated. Some samples were processed, following a statistical experimental factorial planning, varying the mold temperature and the fiber glass percentage and maintaining 5 wt % of the MMT. The samples were submitted to tensile and flexural tests, XRD, SEM and DSC. The studies showed that an increase in the mold temperature and the fiber percentage improves the maximum tensile and flexural stresses. The increased mold temperature slows the cooling rate, which, over time, decreases the degree of crystallinity. However, there is an increase in the intercalation of the polymeric chains and the nanoclay lamellae, and the structure forms with fewer defects. (author)