Investigation of the deformation and failure mechanism of organo-montmorillonite filled PP-TPO nanocomposites under uniaxial tension

Many applications of nanocomposites based on polymeric systems have been developed for some time. However, the mechanisms of failure as well as fracture toughness of nanocomposites are yet to be completely understood. In this study, the clustering of nanoparticles, specifically, the effect of the number of clusters and their sizes on the fracture behavior of polypropylene (PP) and thermoplastic olefin (TPO) nano-composites is investigated. The effect of injection-molding flow profiles is also discussed with respect to the filler morphology and its effect on the tensile fracture toughness. Morphological analysis of the nanoparticle distribution is performed through fractographic analysis, and the contribution of nanoparticle clustering to the micromechanisms of fracture is discussed.