Tensile, flexural and free vibration characteristics of sustainable recycled polypropylene filled with spherical SiC through experimental and RVE analysis

What is it about?

This study aims to investigate the mechanical properties of sustainable recycled polypropylene (rPP) composite materials integrated with spherical silicon carbide (SiC) particles.

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Why is it important?

Findings The investigation reveals that the highest values of Young’s modulus, tensile strength, flexural strength and mode 1 frequency are observed for the 30% rPP/SiC samples, exhibiting increases of 115, 116, 62 and 15%, respectively, compared to pure rPP. Fractography analysis confirms the ductile nature of pure rPP and the brittle behavior of the 30% rPP/SiC composite. Moreover, the RVE method predicts Young’s modulus more accurate than micromechanical models, aligning closely with experimental results. Additionally, results from ANSYS simulation tests show tensile strength, flexural strength and frequency within a 10% error range when compared to experimental data.