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• Arencón, D
• Velasco, J
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• Velasco, J

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Materials 2009, 2(4), 2046-2094; doi:10.3390/ma2042046

Review

Fracture Toughness of Polypropylene-Based Particulate Composites

David Arencón and José Ignacio Velasco*

Centre Català del Plàstic, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Edifici Vapor Universitari, Colom 114, 08222, Terrassa, Spain

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 27 October 2009; in revised form: 24 November 2009 / Accepted: 27 November 2009 / Published: 30 November 2009

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Composite Materials)

Download PDF Full-Text [1561 KB, uploaded 1 December 2009 08:38 CET]

Abstract: The fracture behaviour of polymers is strongly affected by the addition of rigid particles. Several features of the particles have a decisive influence on the values of the fracture toughness: shape and size, chemical nature, surface nature, concentration by volume, and orientation. Among those of thermoplastic matrix, polypropylene (PP) composites are the most industrially employed for many different application fields. Here, a review on the fracture behaviour of PP-based particulate composites is carried out, considering the basic topics and experimental techniques of Fracture Mechanics, the mechanisms of deformation and fracture, and values of fracture toughness for different PP composites prepared with different particle scale size, either micrometric or nanometric.

Keywords: polypropylene; composites; fracture toughness

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