ejmse.2025.10.01.037

EFFECTS OF ALUMINIUM REINFORCEMENT ON THE MECHANICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-DENSITY POLYETHYLENE COMPOSITES

European Journal of Materials Science and Engineering, Volume 10, Issue 1, 2025
PDF Full Article,  DOI: 10.36868/ejmse.2025.10.01.037,   pp. 37-50
Published: March 20, 2025

A. Nayeem FARUQUI1,*, Md. Jillur RAHMAN1, Md. Mehidi HASAN 1, Md. Rezaul Karim SHEIKH 1
1 Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi 6205, Bangladesh

* Corresponding author: nayeemfaruqui@ru.ac.bd

Abstract

Polymer matrix composites (PMC) are prominent structural materials that offer a combination of some extra-ordinary properties, including light weight, high strength, high resistance to chemicals, etc. In this research, the influence of aluminium reinforcement content (5–40 wt%) on the morphological, mechanical, and physical properties (impact strength, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and maximum load-bearing capacity) of Al-high-density polyethylene (HDPE) composites has been studied. We used a customized extruder machine to fabricate the composites, followed by injection molding to prepare test specimens. In comparison to virgin HDPE, the impact strength, flexural strength, elastic modulus, and tensile strength of the composites increased at 5 weight percent of aluminium content and declined with increasing reinforcing quantity. The break point is higher for pure HDPE than composites with any weight of aluminium. Using an optical and scanning electron microscope (SEM), a microstructural study of the composites was carried out to assess the cohesion and distribution of the reinforcement and matrix. Based on the particle loading and uniformity, it was observed that composites with a 5 wt% content of aluminium reinforcement exhibited more efficiency for the enhancement of mechanical properties.

Keywords: Polymer matrix composites (PMC), aluminium, morphological analysis, high-density polyethylene (HDPE), mechanical properties.

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