Dynamic mechanical, thermal, and morphological study of ABS/textile fiber composites

In this work, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene ABS terpolymer was mixed with acrylic fiber, cotton fiber, and waste textile fiber (WTF) (50/50 wt% cotton/acrylic fiber) with 10 and 30 wt% of fiber content in a batch mixer. The composites with 30 wt% of acrylic fiber showed the highest stabilized torque, while the compositions with 30 wt% of cotton were situated at the lowest values in torque rheometry. The fiber addition up to 30 wt% did not have effect on the degradation behavior of ABS matrix. The composites with 30% textile fiber showed a higher degradation step, which is related to fiber degradation. The fiber content resulted in a considerable increase in stiffness at all temperatures as can be observed on the dynamic mechanical thermal properties (DMTA). The reinforcing effect was higher in the region above the glass transition temperature, T (g), of the matrix, this is primarily due to the larger difference in mechanical properties between the filler and the matrix as it goes from the glassy to the rubbery state.