Investigation of the Effects of Formulation and Processing Parameters on Properties of PA 6 Nanocomposites using Taguchi Method of Experimental Design

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the effect of processing conditions and nanoclay (NC) content on formation and various properties of polyamide 6 (PA 6) nanocomposites was studied by means of Taguchi method of experimental design. PA 6/organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt mixing of PA 6 at different organoclay loadings using a co-rotating twin-screw extruder. In order to investigate the effects of both processing conditions and organoclay content on silicate dispersion (exfoliation) and thermal and mechanical properties of the nanocomposites, different extrusion rates, processing temperatures and feeding rates at various NC loadings were used. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the formation of nanostructure and clay dispersion. The thermal properties of PA 6 nanocomposites were studied through TMA tests. XRD results revealed the formation of nanocomposite and evidenced that the samples exhibit mixed intercalated / exfoliated morphology and verified that, the extent of exfoliation increases with both clay content and extrusion rate used. The mechanical properties of PA 6 nanocomposites were studied using tensile tests. The strength and modulus of PA 6 nanocomposites were improved significantly by increasing the clay concentration and shear rate level.