Influence of Alumina Particles on Thermal Behavior of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

This study evaluated the effects of alumina (Al2O3) particles on thermal properties of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). HDPE and HDPE/5, 10 & 15 wt% Al2O3 composites were prepared by compression molding. Differential scanning calorimetery (DSC) was used to analyze the thermal and crystallization behavior of the samples. The results indicated that the alumina particles affected the crystallization behavior of HDPE matrix, significantly. However, the DSC results showed that alumina content did not influence the melting temperature of HDPE in this composite. The results also showed that the incorporation of alumina particles caused the decrease of specific heat capacity coefficient and entropy.