Internal Structure and Mechanical Properties of Glass Fibre Reinforced Pc/Abs Injection Mouldings with Different Fibre Surface Treatments

The microstructure (including the morphology, fibre length, and fibre orientation) of injection moulded glass fibre reinforced polycarbonate (PC)/acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) blend was investigated. Three grades of commercially available surface treated glass fibres were used; each grade received a treatment that was specially formulated and optimized to enhance the affinity of the glass fibre surface to PC, ABS or both PC and ABS phases. Morphological evaluation confirms that the glass fibres had a preferential affinity to a particular resin depending on the type of surface treatment applied. This preferential affinity could also be detected through the difference in fibre length distribution in the specimens, although their mean fibre lengths and fibre orientations were quite similar. Flexural modulus, flexural strength and impact strength were all affected by differences in the distribution of fibre lengths. It was also discovered that the resin flowed faster than the glass fibres, especially at the core of the mouldings.