Mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of waste rubber powder/HDPE composite

Mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of a waste rubber powder-fille d high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composite are investigated. Rubber powde r is surface-modified with acrylamide (AAm) using ultraviolet. Rubber powde r and HDPE are extruded using a single-screw extruder and maleic anhydride- grafted polypropylene is added as a compatibilizer to improve the adhesion between rubber powder and HDPE. The tensile stress and strain of AAm-grafte d rubber powder/compatibilizer/HDPE composites always exhibit higher values than those of unmodified rubber powder/HDPE composites. Surface modificati on of rubber powder is shown to decrease the magnitude of the tan delta of the HDPE composite. Higher values of the notched Izod impact strength of a surface-modified rubber-filled composite is observed compared to those of u nmodified rubber-filled composite. Experimental results show that acryl ami de-graft-cd rubber powder reacts with maleic anhydride and it results in im proved mechanical properties of the HDPE composite. (C) 2000 John Wiley & S ons, Inc.