Mixing strategy and tensile strength characterization of WTR-PP composite

Abstract

As vehicles are on the rise globally, so is tire disposal when out of service. One potential recycling process is turning the waste tire into a useful composite by incorporating it with thermoplastic materials. In the present work, composite based on waste tire rubber (WTR) and polypropylene (PP) were developed using a single screw filament extruder for various concentrations of WTR (20, 40, 60, and 80% wt.). Physical and morphological characterization of WTR (425 µm) and WTR-PP composite was performed; furthermore, mechanical characterization of WTR-PP composites was also carried out under the tensile load. Morphological observation reveals that WTR-PP with low WTR content shows comparatively better distribution, maintaining the necessary strength and thermoplasticity of the composite compared to the higher WTR content in the composite. The tensile study shows that incorporating WTR with polypropylene decreased tensile strength but improved elongation at break. The macrofractography is carried out to study the failure origin and crack propagation in the WTR-PP composite.

Keywords:

• Waste tire rubber
• polypropylene
• composite
• screw extruder
• tensile test

Acknowledgement

The authors are highly indebted to Department of Mechanical Engineering, ZHCET, AMU for providing the necessary facilities to complete this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).