Journal of Basrah Researches ((Sciences)) Volume 37.

Number 3A/ 15 June ((2011))

Water absorption and mechanical properties of high density polyethylene/

egg shell composite
Abdullah A. Hussein 1, Rusel D. Salim2 and Abdulwahab A. Sultan3
1

Department of Material Science, Polymer Research Centre,

Department of Physics, College of Education, University of Basrah
3
Basra Technical College
ISSN 1817 2695
((Received 20/3/2011, Accepted 15/5/2011))

ABSTRACT:
In this research, the water absorption and mechanical properties of (high-density polyethylene
/egg shell) composites as a function of egg shell powder weight content in the grain size (75,125 m)
were investigated. Polymer composite was fabricated by mixing (HDPE) with (5, 10, 15, 20, 25) wt.%
of egg shell powder to obtain desirable properties. The parameters such as tensile strength, tensile
modulus, elongation at break and impact test were carried out on the prepared samples. It was found
that the addition of egg shell powder to the polymer leads to decrease the tensile strength, modulus of
elasticity, shore-D hardness on other hand it increases the % elongation at break, and for the impact
strength. Water absorption of the composites behaviours as function of days has also been
investigated, and it increases by increasing exposure time for the same filler content, while the
absorbed amount of water increases, by increasing the wt.% of egg shell constant exposure time.
Keywords: HDPE, Egg shell, water absorption, Mechanical properties.

INTRODUCTION:A composite is a heterogeneous substance

consisting of two or more materials which do
not lose the characteristics of each component.
This combination of materials brings about new
desirable properties [1]. Polymer composites
consist of a polymer resin as the matrix, with
fibers as the reinforcement medium [2].
Considerable interest has been generated in the
manufacture of thermoplastic composites due to
their unique properties, including their good
mechanical properties, their thermal stability,
and a reduced product cost [3]. Due to the
combination of more than one material, the
properties of composites are influenced by many
factors such as filler characteristics, filler
content, and interfacial adhesion [4]. This can
cause the behaviour of filled polymers to be
more complex than their unfilled counterpart
[5]. Mechanical properties of polymeric
materials are important for nearly all
applications in industry, technology, and the
household. Particularly, stiffness, strength, and
toughness are decisive properties in many uses.
Mechanical properties depend strongly on
chemical as well as on supermolecular structure

of the polymeric material [6]. While the

chemical, molecular structure defines some
basic properties such as rigidity, thermal
softening, and melting behavior, the ultimate
mechanical properties are fixed by the
supermolecular structures or morphology. The
same molecular structure can yield to many
varied morphologies dependent on factors such
as orientation due to fabrication, different
cooling rates, changes in thermal history, and
secondary crystallization [7].
High density polyethylene (HDPE) is
an important commercial polymer which is
widely
used
for
different
engineering
applications in modern technology [8]. HDPE is
used in a variety of applications and industries
where excellent impact resistance, high tensile
strength, low moisture absorption, excellent low
temperature toughness, relatively high softening
temperatures and chemical and corrosion
resistance properties are required [9]. In order to
reduce the cost or enhance the physical and
mechanical properties of HDPE, some additives
can be added. Fillers and reinforcement used
include talc, calcium carbonate, mica,

36

Hussein, Salim & Sultan

wollastonite, glass fiber, glass bead, jute, etc.

[10].
Egg shell is a biomaterial containing 95% by
weight of calcium carbonate in the form of
calcite and 5% by weight of organic materials,
such as (Al2O3 , SiO2 , S, Cl , Cr2O3 , MnO )
[11].The generalized egg shell structure, which
varies widely among species, is a protein matrix
lined with mineral crystals, usually of a calcium
compound such as calcium carbonate[11].

It is clear that the egg shell can change the

mechanical properties of high density
polyethylene, because of its nature, size, shape
and distribution. This study focused on the
effect of compositing on the water absorption
and mechanical properties of High density
polyethylene .The optimized percentage was
identified and its proper applications were
proposed.

EXPERIMENTAL:
Materials:
The material used in the study was HDPE
(density =0.96 gm /cm3) supplied by the state
company of petrochemical industries (SCPI),
Basra Iraq. The egg shell powder was obtained
from a local market. The samples used in this
investigation were prepared by compression
molding method [7].
Sample preparation:
First, raw material eggshells were subjected
to cleaning, dried and ground to a powder using
the blender. A sieve was used to obtain average
grain sizes of
(75,125 m). The egg shell
powder was dried in an oven to eliminate
contaminants and odour. After that powder was

treated with a solution of 5% NaOH [12], it was

added to the polymer in different weight fraction
(5, 10, 15, 20, 25) wt.%. The egg shell powder
as a fine powder was mixed with HDPE using
mixer 600 instrument attached to Haake
Rehochard meter with following conditions;
mixing time 15 min; mixing temperature 1750C ;
mixing velocity 32 RPM . The final mold
product was introduced in a laboratory compress
under 5 ton at 1750C for (2-5) minutes in a
square frame .The pressure then rises gradually
up to 15 ton for a (5) minutes and after this
period the sample was cooled up to reach room
temperature .

Table (1) : The specification of HDPE and egg shell powders.

Sample No.
1
2
3
4
5

HDPE (%)
95
90
85
80
75

Egg shell (%)

5
10
15
20
25

Characterization and measurements:

Tensile tests
In order to measure the mechanical
properties, samples with a respective shape
(Dumbbell-shaped specimens) were prepared
(20*20) cm2 and (2&3 mm) thickness. Tensile
strength (ASTM D638) was determined using an
Instron testing machine at a crosshead speed 20
cm/min and chard speed (10) cm/min. The
impact strength (ASTM D256-87) was

determined using Charpy impact test instrument.

Hardness type shore D (ASTM Test Load) was
used to measure the hardness of the polymer
materials. The average reading of samples tests
were considered. The mechanical tests
instruments used for this purpose are available
in the state company of petrochemical industries
(SCPI) and the University of Basra Laboratories.

Table (2): The instrument has the fallowing specification

Tensile load range
Cross head speed
Cross head travel

0 - 2500 kg
0.0 - 500 mm/min
980 mm

Chart speed

10 mm/min.

37

Water absorption and Mechanical properties of High density polyethylene/ egg shell

Water Absorption Test

Water absorption test (ASTM D750-95) was
done by total immersion of three samples in
distilled water at room temperature. The water
absorption was determined by weighing the
samples at regular intervals (Weight gain). A
Sartorius balance in the range (0.0001-200 gm) .

The percentage of water absorption (M %), was

calculated by [12]:
W (%) = [(W2-W1)/W1]*100%

(1)

where W1 and W2 are the dry and wet weights,

respectively.

Results and Discussions:

Figure 1 shows the tensile strength as a
function of filler content. It is observed that the
tensile strength for the composites decreases
with increasing filler content. The decreases in
tensile strength are due to the poor adhesion of
the filler-matrix and the agglomeration of filler
particles. The strength of particulate-filled
polymer composites depends, to a great extent,
on the interfacial adhesion between the matrix
and the filler which will facilitate the transfer of
a small section of stress to the filler particle
during deformation [13].
The tensile modulus can be calculated from
the slope of linear region for stress strain curve
using tensile test. Figure 2 shows the tensile
modulus as a function of filler content. The
tensile modulus varied between 450 to 340 for
egg shell weight ratio between 5 to 25%
respectively. This decrement in tensile modulus
can refer to increase the resistance of material to
deformation.
The
increased
modulus
corresponds to more filler where its intrinsic
properties as a request agent exhibit high
stiffness (modulus) compared to polymeric
material [14]. This is because at a high filler
loading, the composite will be able to withstand
greater loads [15].
The effect of egg shell on the elongation at
break of HDPE is shown in Figure 3.From this
figure It can be seen that, the elongation at the
break for the composites increasing with
increasing filler content because the addition of
egg shell powder causes an increase in the
elasticity which leads to reduce the strength of
the material. Increase of the elongation break
with the increasing filler loading indicates the
capability of the filler to support the stress
transfer from polymer filler to matrix [16].
Figure 4 shows the Impact strength as a
function of filler content. As expected, the
addition of the egg shell increased the stiffness
of the HDPE gradually with increasing filler

content. This increase in impact strength may

relate to the fact that when egg shell powder is
added to polymer it acts like a solid
"Plasticizer", therefore the flexibility of the
polymer increases and its ability to absorb and
dissipate energy increases, so the polymer needs
high impact energy to fracture. From the result it
can be concluded that HDPE / egg shell powder
composite exhibit synergistic improvement in
impact strength, the synergy might be explained
by the fine dispersion of the second component
(egg shell) achieved due to a good viscosity
match with HDPE [17].
Figure 5 shows the effect of filler content on
the (Shore-D Hardness) of egg shell powder
filled HDPE composites. It is obvious that,
Shore-D Hardness decreases with increasing
filler content. This may be attributed to the fact
that the hardness is generally considered to be a
property of the surface therefore this behaviour
of hardness is expected [18]. The addition of the
egg shell leads to an increase in the elasticity
and a decrease in the matrix surface resistance to
the indentation [19].
Figure 6 (a&b) show the variation of ratio of
water absorption versus exposure time for
(HDPE / egg shell powder) composite with
different fillers content and grain size (75,125
m). It can be seen from the figure that, the
composites with higher filler content show more
water absorption. This is due to the higher
contents of filler content in the composites that
can absorb more water. As the filler content
increases, the formation of agglomerations
increases due to the difficulties of achieving a
homogeneous dispersion of filler at high filler
content. The agglomeration of the filler in
composites increases the water absorption of the
composites. The figures also show that the ratio
of water absorption by grain size (75 m) was
higher than for grain size (125 m) for all fillers
content, because of the surface area [20].

38

Hussein, Salim & Sultan

CONCLUSION
The addition of egg shell filler has resulted in
some improvement in the mechanical properties
of HDPE. The tensile strength, modulus of
elasticity and shore-D hardness elongation at
break of (HDPE / egg shell powder) composite
were slightly reduced with the incorporation of

the filler. Elongation at break and the impact

strength increase gradually with increasing filler
content. Water absorption of the composites
behaviours as function of days has also been
investigated.

70
PURE
75 m
125 m

tensile strength(Mpa)

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0

10

15

20

25

wt.% Filler
Figure 1: Effect of filler content on the tensile strength of (HDPE /egg shell) composites.
500
PURE
75 m
125 m

450

Tensile modulus (Mpa)

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0

10

15

20

25

wt.% filler
Figure 2: Effect of filler content on the tensile modulus of (HDPE /egg shell) composites.

39

Water absorption and Mechanical properties of High density polyethylene/ egg shell

PURE
75 m
125 m

Elongation at break (%)

400

300

200

100

0
0

10

15

20

25

wt.% filler

Figure 3: Effect of filler content on the Elongation (%) of (HDPE /egg shell) composites.

0.035

Impact strength (J/mm )

0.030

PURE
75 m
125 m

0.025
0.020
0.015
0.010
0.005
0.000
0

10

15

20

25

wt.% filler
Figure 4: Effect of filler content on the Impact strength of (HDPE /egg shell)) composites.

40

Hussein, Salim & Sultan

7
PURE
75 m
125 m

Shore D Hardness

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

10

15

20

25

wt.% filler

0.07 125 m
0%
5%
0.06
10%
15%
0.05
20%
25%
0.04

(b)

water absorption (%)

water absorption (%)

Figure 5: Effect of filler content on (Shore-D) Hardness of (HDPE /egg shell) composites.

0.03
0.02

0.07 75 m
0%
0.06
5%
10%
0.05
15%
20%
25%
0.04

(a)

0.03
0.02
0.01

0.01

0.00
0.00

-0.01
1

exposuretime(days)

exposuretime (days)

Figure 6: Effect of exposure time on the water absorption of (HDPE /egg shell) composites with different
filler content (a) 75 m and (b) 125 m.

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/
:

.(
.

.(75,125

42

m)

(5%,10%,15%,20%,25%)