Wollastonite as a Suitable Alternative to Glass Fibers in Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene Composites

Hypothesis: 

Using glass fiber in acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) composites has its limitations by increasing the final price (cost) of the product, abrasions in processing machines, the environmental and health problems during recycling as well as the reduction in impact strength of the composite. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of silane-treated wollastonite, with a needle structure similar to glass fiber, as an alternative to glass fiber in order to eliminate the drawbacks of ABS/glass fiber composites, on the mechanical properties of ABS/wollastonite composites and compared with ABS/glass fiber composites.

The ABS composites were produced using two types of wollastonite with different geometrical specifications. Dispersion of wollastonite in ABS matrix was evaluated using the SEM micrographs, and the mechanical properties of the composites were determined based on tensile and Izod impact testes. Then, the suitable wollastonite was selected and the ABS/wollastonite composites properties such as tensile, impact strength, thermal and dynamic-mechanical properties were compared with the ABS/glass fiber composites properties at similar percentage of reinforcement phase.

The experimental results showed that the geometrical specification, especially the length/diameter ratio of wollastonite has a significant effect on the impact strength of the ABS composite as a result of good interfacial interaction between the filler and polymer matrix. The results showed significant improvement in the impact strength of ABS/wollastonite composites compared with that of ABS/glass fibers, while the modulus and strength as well as the Vicat softening temperature were acceptable compared with those of ABS/glass fibers composites. According to the results, ABS/wollastonite composites can be a good alternative to ABS/glass fiber composites in many applications.