Rubber-toughened long glass fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite

A rubber-toughened thermoplastic composite was produced by alternating long glass fiber reinforced polypropylene prepregs and rubber particles. Several composite laminates were obtained by changing the number of plies, the rubber powder size distribution, and the stacking sequence. Quasi-static mechanical tests (tensile and flexure) and time dependent tests (dynamic mechanical analysis and cyclic flexure) were carried out to evaluate strength and damping properties. As expected, 10 wt% rubber-filled laminates showed lower strengths than rubber-free laminates but the effect of the rubber on the composite damping properties was evident. At low rates, the rubber particles can also double the dissipated energy under cyclic loading, even if this effect disappears by increasing the test rate.