Affiliations: Okura Industrial Co., Ltd, Nakatado-gun, Kagawa, Japan | Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Hiroshima, Japan | Toyo Tanso Co., Ltd, Mitoyo, Kagawa, Japan | Department of Advanced Materials Science, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, Japan | Yamamoto Engineering Works Co., Ltd, Komatsushima, Tokushima, Japan | Tokushima Prefectural Industrial Technology Center, Tokushima, Japan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Ryuichiro Ebara, Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Hiroshima Institute of Technology, 2-1-1 Miyake, Hiroshima 731-5193, Japan. Tel.: +81 82 921 4430; Fax: +81 82 921 8973; E-mail: ebara@me.it-hiroshima.ac.jp.
Abstract: In this paper fatigue behavior of composite materials made from waste plastics such as polyethylene and polypropylene is summarized. Fatigue strengths of polyethylene and polypropylene matrix composite materials with various kinds of fillers such as fly ash, calcium carbonate, glass fiber, glass powder, talc and wood are demonstrated. Among the composite materials made from pallets by use of newly manufacturing system for waste plastics the polyethylene composite materials with 20 wt% fly ash only showed higher fatigue strength than that of polyethylene waste plastics. However the polypropylene composite materials with fillers such as 25 wt% talc and 20 wt% glass fiber made from injection molding showed higher fatigue strengths than that of polypropylene material. It can be concluded from detailed fracture surface observations that the tight interface between polyethylene and polypropylene matrix and fillers can provide composite materials with high fatigue strength by use of newly developed manufacturing systems for waste plastics.
