Mechanical and thermal properties of ABS-CaCO₃composites

The tensile, impact and bending properties of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) filled acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer (ABS) composites were measured at room temperature. It was found that the tensile modulus increased nonlinearly with increasing the weight fraction (φ) of the fillers, and the tensile strength and tensile fracture stress decreased gently with the increase of φ. The Charpy notched impact strength decreased quickly when φ ≤ 10%, and then decreased gently with increasing φ. While the bending strength increased when φ ≤ 10%, and then it decreased gradually with increasing φ. However, the effects of filler size and its surface treatment on these mechanical properties were insignificant. Furthermore, the Vicat softening temperature (Tv) of the samples was a measured at a constant loading and a temperature ramp rate. The result showed that Tvincreased with the addition of φ. It indicates that CaCO3fillers are beneficial to improve the heat resistant properties of the resin.