Production of Polyvinyl Chloride-Grass Composite Using Injection Moulding Process

Abstract

This study focused on the production of polyvinyl chloride-grass
composite using injection moulding process. The effects of barrel
temperature on the mechanical properties of the produced composite
were also investigated. The polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material and grass
were mixed together to form a homogenous mixture with various
percentage composition by volume. The two screw plunger injection
moulding machine with maximum clamping force of 70 tons and shot
capacity of 3.0oz was used to produce polyvinyl chloride-grass composite
at various barrel temperature ranging from 210oC to 310oC. The
produced polyvinyl chloride-grass composite was evaluated for its
mechanical properties which included tensile strength, proof stress,
percentage elongation and flexural strength. The maximum tensile
strength, proof stress, percentage elongation and flexural strength for
PVC-Grass composite were determined as 9.85N/mm2
, 5.33N/mm2
, 180%
and 27.6×102N/mm2 at barrel temperature of 270oC, 260
oC, 270oC,
260
oC respectively. The results obtained shows that barrel temperature
of injection moulding machine contributes significantly to the production
of polyvinyl chloride-grass composite.