Abstract

In the present study, two different blends were used as matrix. One of the blends is consisting of the two semi-crystalline polymeric components. The other blend is the combination of one semi-crystalline polymer and one amorphous polymer. The semi-crystalline poly (ether ketone) (PEEK) is the common component in both the blends. The other polymers are poly (ether ketone) (PEK) which is semi-crystalline and poly (ether sulphone) (PES) which is amorphous in nature. The blends were optimized based on their thermal and mechanical properties. Twin screw extrusion technique was used for the incorporation of nanoparticles of barium titanate (BT). The nano filler of BT was varied from 2 to 6wt% (0.41 to 1.28 vol%). The fabricated nanocomposites were tested for tensile properties such as tensile strength, tensile modulus and elongation at break. ‘Pukanszky model’ related to tensile strength was used to evaluate the reliability of the tensile data of the fabricated polymer nanocomposites obtained from the experimental results. From ‘Pukanszky model’, it was observed that tensile strength seemed to govern by the adhesion parameter, B_σ, which correlates the interphase and the interfacial interaction.

Keywords: Nanocomposite; Extrusion; Tensile strength; Tensile modulus; Reliability