Electrostatic dissipative glass fibre reinforced composites

Abstract

Electrically conductive composites were made from short glass fibre (GF) and carbon black (CB) blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using a single screw extruder. The Young's modulus, tensile and impact strengths were improved with the addition of GF, and the surface conductivity in the static dissipative range of 10-6 to 10-99 S was achieved at CB content as low as 1 wt%, significantly lower than that in the unreinforced CB/HDPE. Addition of a coupling agent (MAPE) improved bonding between fibres and the polymer matrix and increased the stiffness and fracture resistance.