Evaluation of The Tensile, Flexural and Impact Characteristics of Recycled Polyamide 66 Based on Taguchi Orthogonal Design
Abstract
The application areas of polymers in the electrical connection element industry are quite extensive. In this industry, where many polymers are used, unmodified polymers and recycled polymers are preferred. The use of recycled polymers in the plastic injection molding process for connectors must not compromise the standard mechanical properties of the product to be produced. The aim of this study is to investigate the change in mechanical properties measured after injection molding of virgin PA66 and plastic composites with 10% and 40% recycled plastic content. In this study, mechanical properties were measured by conducting a series of experiments designed according to the L27 Taguchi design, using virgin Polyamide (PA) 66 polymer and recycled plastics added at different ratios. Four injection parameters were used in the experiments: melt temperature, injection time, cooling time, and gate type. Tensile, flexural, and impact tests were performed on the plastic products obtained from these parameters. While a virgin polymers provides the highest flexural strength, the best results in terms of overall mechanical properties, including tensile and impact resistance, were achieved with a 10% recycled plastic additive. Additionally, it was determined that the most effective parameters on the mechanical properties were the gate type and melt temperature among the four injection parameters. It was observed that the highest test results were obtained as the melt temperature increased. As a result, it was seen that the mechanical properties of recycled plastic composites improved significantly and provided a 30% cost savings. Thus, the aim was to reduce production costs by using recycled plastic without compromising quality or mechanical properties.
Keywords
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