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The objective of this study is to examine the mechanical, thermal, and physical properties of industrially produced nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposites. For this purpose, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 10.0, and 15.0 wt.% loading of nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposites were prepared by the melt mixing method using a compounder system, which consist of industrial banbury mixer, single screw extruder, and granule cutting. The effect of nano-CaCO3 on mechanical, thermal, and physical properties of nano-CaCO3/HDPE nanocomposites was investigated. As a result of all experiments, the tensile strength of nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposite increased about 5% with addition of 1.0 wt.% nano-CaCO3. But did not increase further as more nano-CaCO3 was added. The flexural strength of nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposite increased about 4.5% with addition of 15.0 wt.% nano-CaCO3.Then increased slightly as the nano-CaCO3 content increased to 15.0 wt.%. The tensile and flexural modulus of high-density polyethylene were significantly improved after (from 1.0 wt.% up to 15.0 wt.%) addition of nano-CaCO3. The tensile elongation at break and shore D hardness was consistently decreased with the addition of nano-CaCO3. The nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposites were determined to have lower impact energy level than neat high-density polyethylene. The occurred fracture areas with the impact were detected by scanning electron microscopy examination. It is understood that fracture surface morphology changes when nano-CaCO3 ratio increases. The fracture surface changes were examined to determine the fracture mechanism of nano-CaCO3 filled high-density polyethylene nanocomposites. Density, melting flow index, differential scanning colorimetry, and vicat softening temperature were used to characterize the physical and thermal properties of the nanocomposites. The X-ray diffraction, the fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry, the transmission electron microscopy, and the scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the structural characteristics of the nanocomposites. It is concluded that the addition of the nano-CaCO3 in high-density polyethylene has significantly influenced the mechanical, thermal, and physical properties of the nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to introduce mechanical, thermal and surface properties of produced industrially HDPE-based nanocomposites. For this purpose, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0 wt.% loading of nanoclay-reinforced HDPE nanocomposites made from the HDPE matrix were prepared by the melt mixing method using a compounder system, which consist of industrial banbury mixer, single screw extruder and granule cutting. The effect of nanoclay on mechanical, thermal and surface properties of nanoclay/HDPE nanocomposites was investigated. The tensile and flexural strength of nanoclay/HDPE nanocomposite increased by about 5% and 7%, respectively, with addition of 1.0 wt.% nanoclay. But then it decreased slightly as the nanoclay content increased to 5.0 wt.%. The tensile modulus and tensile elongation were decreased with the addition of 1.0 wt.% nanoclay, but did not increase further as more nanoclay was added. The flexural modulus of HDPE was significantly improved after (from 1.0 wt.% up to 5.0 wt.%) addition of nanoclay. It was found that the scratch resistance of nanoclay/HDPE nanocomposite improved with addition of the nanoclay by SEM examination. Density, melting flow index (MFI), differential scanning colorimetry (DSC), and vicat softening temperature (VICAT) were used to characterize the physical and thermal properties of the nanocomposites. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry (FTIR), and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze the structural characteristics of the nanocomposites. It is concluded that the addition of the nanoclay in HDPE has significantly influenced the mechanical, thermal, and surface properties of the nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]