Effect of Glass Filler Geometry on the Mechanical and Optical Properties of Highly Transparent Polymer Composite

Abstract

In this work, we studied the influence of the geometry and degree of filling of glass dispersed particles on the optical and mechanical properties of flexible high-transmission composites, based on thermoplastic polyurethane. Glass spheres, glass flake and milling glass fiber were used as fillers. Studies of mechanical properties have shown that the introduction of any filler leads to a decrease in tensile strength and an increase in the elastic modulus of the composite material, however, with the introduction of glass flakes and milling glass fiber, a significant increase in the yield strength of the material is observed. The optical properties of composites with glass spheres decrease exponentially with an increase in the volume fraction of the filler. With an increase in the concentration of glass flakes and milling glass fiber to 10 vol.%, a sharp decrease in transmission is observed. With a further increase in concentration, the orientation of the filler along the film occurs, due to which the transmission in the visible range increases to values close to those of a pure polymer.