L. Averous et al., DETERMINATION OF THE MICROTEXTURE OF REINFORCED THERMOPLASTICS BY IMAGE-ANALYSIS, Composites science and technology, 58(3-4), 1998, pp. 377-387
The mechanical properties of reinforced thermoplastics depend on such
characteristics of the filler as granulometry, orientation and dispers
ion. These different microtextural parameters were determined by using
a single toot. image analysis, which was coupled with optical and ele
ctron microscopies. The different materials tested were based on short
-glass-fibre-reinforced polypropylene obtained by extrusion and inject
ion steps. For the different samples analysed, the processing conditio
ns and the filler concentration were constant, and variability was due
to the different average lengths of the filler incorporated in the ma
trix. The different filler parameters were deter mined with particular
emphasis on the techniques of dispersion characterisation. The techni
ques developed in this study were based on image analysis. They enable
d us to estimate filler-size distribution and development of the three
-dimensional orientation inside the material and between different sam
ples. The development of the filler dispersion was also made apparent.
In addition, the relationships obtained between the different microte
xtural parameters were investigated. The general conclusion is that im
age analysis is very suitable for characterisation of this kind of mat
erial. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.