Improvement of mechanical properties of recycled plastic blends via optimizing processing parameters using the Taguchi method and principal component analysis

Fu Gu, Philip Hall, Nicholas J. Miles, Qianwen Ding, Tao Wu

Research output: Journal PublicationArticlepeer-review

56 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this paper, the Taguchi method and principal component analysis (PCA) are used to improve the mechanical properties of recycled polypropylene (PP) blends in injection moulding procedure, with detailed assessments performed on each method and comparison was made based on results of both the methods. The experimental design was carried out by adopting a L9-34 Taguchi orthodoxy array (OA), which has four controllable factors (i.e., melt temperature, mould temperature, injection speed and packing pressure) at three levels. Injection moulded specimens made from different compositions of virgin-recycled PP were tested to determine the optimal conditions for the injection moulding procedure. The effects of the processing parameters and the proportion of recycled plastic in composites on the mechanical properties were investigated, the optimal conditions for desired properties were obtained and then verified. The appropriate blending ratio of virgin and recycled plastic was evaluated. The results reveal that deteriorations in the mechanical properties of products produced from recycled plastic can be improved by optimizing the processing parameters during the injection moulding procedure.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)189-198
Number of pages10
JournalMaterials and Design
Volume62
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2014

Keywords

  • Blends
  • Injection moulding
  • Principal component analysis
  • Recycled polypropylene
  • Taguchi method
  • Virgin polypropylene

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Mechanics of Materials
  • Mechanical Engineering

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