Production and mechanical characterization of polyethylene matrix composites with the addition of linen and cotton waste fabric filler materials

Abstract

In this study, linen and cotton fibers obtained from fabric waste were used as filler materials and polyethylene was used as matrix material to produce fiber reinforced polymer composites using injection molding. Use of fabric waste as filler material enables utilization of linen and cotton wastes while decreasing amount of polyethylene used in the composites resulting in an environmentally friendly material. Prepared samples with varying content of linen and cotton wastes (5, 10 and 20 vol. %) were compared with each other and with polyethylene samples without any filler, based on their yield, tensile and fracture strengths, percent elongation and hardness values. Samples were also evaluated for their chip formation characteristics based on chip lengths at various machining speeds and examined for their visual appearance. Results indicated that linen waste fibers can be used to improve strength of polyethylene based composites while cotton waste fibers can be utilized to enhance elongation characteristics of the samples.