Investigating the simultaneous role of clay nanoparticles and strain rate on the tensile behavior of polyethylene matrix nanocomposite

In this research, the tensile behavior of polyethylene matrix nanocomposites reinforced with different percentages of clay nanoparticles (0, 1, 3, 5 and 10) at two strain rates (0.1 and 0.5 min-1) and two different temperatures (25 and 50 degrees Celsius) has been investigated.  

For this purpose, standard samples were prepared using injection molding method. Also, the fracture surface of the deformed samples along with the side surface of the stretched samples were examined using scanning electron microscope and light microscope, respectively.

The results obtained from the tensile test showed that the tensile properties of polyethylene strongly depend on the content of nano clay. Examining the Eyring model showed that the addition of clay nanoparticles up to 10 wt% causes to increase the amount of enthalpy changes from 64.97 to greater than 100 kj/mol and activation volume from 0.0049 to 0.01