Analysis of Elastic Properties of Polypropylene Composite Materials with Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Spherical Reinforcement
Jong-Hwan Yun, Yu-Jae Jeon, Min-Soo Kang
Abstract
This study proposes an isotropic composite material with enhanced elastic properties based on a reinforcement mechanism using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) spherical molecules. Elastic properties are predicted through finite element analysis by randomly mixing UHMWPE using polypropylene (PP) as a matrix. The change in elastic properties of the composite is calculated for volume fractions of UHMWPE from 10 to 70%. Furthermore, the results of finite element analysis are compared and analyzed using a numerical approach. The results show that the physical properties of the composite material are enhanced by the excellent elastic properties of the UHMWPE, and the finite element analysis results confirm that it is effective up to a volume fraction of 35%.