Influence of the grade on the variability of the mechanical properties of polypropylene waste

Hamdi Jmal (1) , Nadia Bahlouli (1) , Christiane Wagner-Kocher (2, 3, 4) , Dimitri Leray (5) , Frédéric Ruch (5) , Jean-Nicolas Munsch (6) , Michel Nardin (6)

1 ICube - Laboratoire des sciences de l'ingénieur, de l'informatique et de l'imagerie
2 LPMT - Laboratoire de Physique et Mécanique Textiles
3 LMGC - Laboratoire de Mécanique et Génie Civil
4 BIOTIC - Biomécanique des Interactions et de l'Organisation des Tissus et des Cellules
5 CETIM - CEntre Technique des Industries Mécaniques
6 IS2M - Institut de Science des Matériaux de Mulhouse

The prior properties of recycled polypropylene depend on the origin of waste deposits and its chemical constituents. To obtain specific properties with a predefine melt flow index of polypropylene, the suppliers of polymer introduce additives and fillers. However, the addition of additives and/or fillers can modify strongly the mechanical behaviour of recycled polypropylene. To understand the impact of the additives and fillers on the quasi-static mechanical behaviour, we consider, in this study, three different recycled polypropylenes with three different melt flow index obtained from different waste deposits. The chemical constituents of the additives and filler contents of the recycled polypropylenes are determined through thermo-physico-chemical analysis. Tensile and bending tests performed at different strain rates allow identifying the mechanical properties such as the elastic modulus, the yield stress, the maximum stress, and the failure mechanisms. The results obtained are compared with non-recycled polypropylene and with few researches to explain the combined effect of additives. Finally, a post-mortem analysis of the samples was carried out to make the link between the obtained mechanical properties and microstructure.

Mots clés: strain rate effect; Grade; Mechanical property; Additive effect; Recycled polypropylene

Domaines: Mécanique des matériaux [physics.class-ph]

Hamdi Jmal, Nadia Bahlouli, Christiane Wagner-Kocher, Dimitri Leray, Frédéric Ruch, et al.. Influence of the grade on the variability of the mechanical properties of polypropylene waste. Waste Management, 2018, 75, pp.160-173. ⟨10.1016/j.wasman.2018.02.006⟩. ⟨hal-01712286⟩