Influence of fiber filler on the structure and properties of polyvinyl chloride / acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene blends

The paper deals with filling polyvinyl chloride (PVC) compositions modified with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) in a wide concentration range (per hundredth of PVC resin (phr) 10–20 phr ABS) with short-fiber basalt fiber, intended for production of profile mounded products of various functional purposes. The introduction of ABS into PVC compositions makes it easier to process the material, and improves the impact toughness, which for rigid PVC products is an important factor since it expands the areas of their application. However, as a rule, polymer-polymer blends are characterized by low mechanical properties under compression, tension and bending, resulting from the formation of two-phase morphology, which is often heterogeneous. To increase stiffness and strength, 7 phr of short-fiber basalt fiber was introduced into their composition. Experimental samples were made by extrusion in the form of flat profiles. Filling with short-fiber basalt fiber resulted in an increase in the bending strength of PVC specimens over the entire concentration range with an optimum in the region of 10–20 phr ABS, as compared to unfilled blended polymer compositions. The method of energy dispersion analysis established that, depending on the ABS content in the mixture, the interaction of the polymer (PVC) with the filler (fiber) is observed either at the polymer-filler boundary or through the boundary layer of the elastomer.