Our group studied the effects of recycling on the material properties of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and the effects of adding glass fibers to recycled HDPE. Material properties such as toughness, molecular composition, fracture etc. were studied on samples produced through injection molding. The variety of techniques used for such tests include Tensile Testing, Charpy Testing, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-Ray Diffraction etc.
Our results confirmed that with mechanical recycling the microstructure and the mechanical properties of HDPE do not change. Our investigation of HDPE with fillers proved inconclusive due to the compromised integrity of the samples. Future studies should examine methods of effectively adding fillers on a small-scale to obtain a better understanding of the microstructure and mechanical properties of filler-reinforced polymers.
Effects of Recycling on the Properties of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
