A Study on the Influence of Hot Press Forming Process Parameters on Flexural Property of Glass/PP Based Thermoplastic Composites Using Box-Behnken Experimental Design
A thermoplastic composite is produced from polypropylene matrix with glass fibre reinforcement. These types of composite materials are ecofriendly nature due to their reusability after their lifetime. These polymer composites are alternative to heavy metals that are currently being used in many non-structural applications. In spite of being ecofriendly nature, the range of applications is limited due to poor mechanical properties as compared with thermoset matrix composite. Hence an attempt was made in this work to improve the mechanical property such as flexural property of Glass/PP hybrid woven composites by optimizing the parameters during compression moulding, such as mould pressure, mould temperature, and holding time using Box-Behnken experimental design. Each process variables were taken in 3 different levels. Second order polynomial model with quadratic effect was chosen. The optimum combination of process parameters was obtained by using contour diagram. The levels of importance of process parameters on flexural properties were determined by using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The variation of flexural property with cited process parameters was mathematically modelled using the regression analysis. 1. Introduction It is a truism that technology development depends on advances in the field of materials. One cannot imagine the most advanced turbine or aircraft design without adequate materials to bear the service loads. The final limitation of any development is limited by the advancement of materials. In this contest nowadays polymeric composite materials are nonignorable. There has been always increasing demand for materials [1] that are stiffer and stronger and lighter which are used in the field of aerospace, energy, and civil constructions. Advanced composite material satisfies the above requirement. Throughout the prior two decades, fiber reinforced composite materials were principally fabricated using thermosetting matrices [2, 3]. The important disadvantages stemming from the use of thermosets include brittleness, lengthy cure cycles, and inability to repair and recycle the damaged or scrapped parts. These disadvantages led to the development of the thermoplastic matrix composite system. Compared with thermosets composites, the thermoplastic fibre reinforced composites are having longer shelf life and higher strain to failure and are faster to consolidate and retain the ability to be repaired, reshaped, and reused as need arises. In addition to this, due to the high emphasis on production of eco-friendly products, has also been insisted
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