Correlation of mechanical and tribological properties of organosilane modified cenosphere filled high density polyethylene

Flyash cenosphere obtained as industrial waste from thermal power plants is an effective cost and weight reducing filler for developing lightweight polymer composites. Cenospheres as fillers also help in improving the mechanical properties of base polymer matrices. However, the desired enhancement depends on homogeneous dispersion of cenospheres and excellent compatibility between cenospheres and polymer matrix. In the present work, this was achieved by modifying the surface of cenospheres using silane treatment and incorporating them in a versatile thermoplastic high density polyethylene. The silane treatment resulted in considerable improvement in the impact strength and density of the composites which ultimately translated into better wear performance of composites even in severe abrasive conditions. Lancaster-Ratner correlation between mechanical properties and wear resistance was found to be almost linear for the silane treated cenospheres filled composites unlike the untreated cenospheres filled composites. Scanning electron microscopy was used to understand the wear modes and mechanisms and supported using X-ray diffractograms. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.