Study of thermal, mechanical and morphological properties of the particulate composite aluminum/low density polyethylene

ABSTRACT

Face the growing need to restore the environment and its natural resources, currently the recycling and reuse of materials becomes one of the most important sustainable solution. In this scenario, the processing of aluminum particulate composite with low density polyethylene thermoplastic matrix (LDPE) from recycling packages, presents an attractive way to obtain raw materials for the building industry, in the manufacturing of lightweight roof tiles, associated with low cost and high availability, among other applications. This work aims to study the properties and behavior of recycled low density polyethylene/aluminum composite. In order to do this, they were performed composite morphology assessment through optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS), as well as were evaluated the thermal and mechanical behavior of this material after being subjected to hygrothermal and ultraviolet conditioning (UV). For the thermal evaluation was performed thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The mechanical properties were evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile and impact tests. From the results obtained from this study it can be concluded that the moisture involving weathering and UV radiation can influence the thermal and mechanical performance of the composite aluminum / LDPE, but it was observed that this influence was not enough to prevent the use of these materials in construction, ensuring this market for LDPE / Al composite.

Keywords:
Recycling; LDPE/Al composite; hygrothermal and UV radiation conditioning