The Use of Untreated Neuburg Siliceous Earth as Filler for High-Density Polyethylene

• Main Authors: Janusz W. Sikora, Johannes Blase, Karolina Głogowska
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Slavonski Brod, Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Osijek, Faculty of Civil Engineering in Osijek 2018-01-01
• Series: Tehnički Vjesnik
• Subjects: mechanical properties; material testing; polymer composites; twin-screw direct extrusion
• Online Access: https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/311115
• ISSN: 1330-3651; 1848-6339

This paper reports the results of a study on twin-screw direct extrusion run at a screw speed of 120 rev/min to produce a composite pellet product which was used for an injection molding process and after that subjected to static tensile testing as well as hardness and specimen morphology examination. As filler, we used untreated Neuburg siliceous earth (NSE) marketed under trade names Silitin Z86 and Silitin V88 ranging from 10 to 60 wt% in a matrix made of high-density polyethylene (PE-HD) Hostalen GD 7255. The results demonstrate that Young‘s modulus and maximum tensile stress of the polyethylene composite with untreated Neuburg siliceous earth first decrease and then increase with increasing the filler’s content. The addition of Silitin Z86 causes an increase in tensile stress at break while the addition of Silitin V88 leads to its decrease. Strain at maximum tensile stress of the tested molded pieces first increases with increasing the filler’s content, but then starts to decrease. The tested composite molded pieces have lower strain at break as opposed to those without the filler. An increase in the filler’s content leads to an increase in hardness of the tested specimens. The results of specimen morphology demonstrate that the filler is unevenly distributed in the polymer and reveals a strong tendency to agglomerate.