Effect of Glass Fiber on the Tensile Strength of Poly(butylene terephthalate)/Polyamide 6 Blends

Abstract

This study analyzed and evaluated the mechanical properties of the Poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT)/Polyamide 6 (PA6) mixture and the effect of glass fiber (GF) when mixed with PBT/PA6 mixture. Some potential applications are recycling PBT and PA6 into insulation or fire-retardant materials by mixing with an appropriate amount of fiberglass (GF). PBT/PA6/GF mixtures are prepared by injection molding method with 0, 3, and 6% GF in each PBT/PA6 mixture in 25/75, 50/50, and 75/25 respectively. After the injection molding, the samples are tested for tensile strength according to ASTM D638. The average tensile strength of PBT/PA6 at 25/75, 50/50, 75/25, and 100% PBT is 48.58, 42.52, 34.91, and 52.21 MPa. It shows that the tensile strength of the PBT/PA6 mixture decreases as the PBT content increases. The average elongation of the samples had a considerable deviation, with 25%PBT/75%PA6 reaching the maximum value of 37.92% and the 75%PBT/25%PA6 sample getting a nominal value of 0.94%. Besides, when mixing GF fiberglass into a PBT/PA6 blend with a 0 and 3% GF ratio, the tensile strength changes and decreases instability. But at 6% GF, there is a clear improvement as tensile strength gradually increases at all PBT/PA6 ratios. Therefore, to obtain an excellent tensile strength value, the GF content in the mixture should be more significant than 6% by weight of the blend. The elongation of PBT/PA6/GF samples is stable when the highest deviation is slight between the ratios. This research aims to serve as a reference for developing a method of mixing materials to produce the desired mechanical properties.