Fibre Reinforcement of Reaction Injection Moulded (RIM) Polyurethane Elastomers

Abstract

The effect of glass fibre addition, in the form of hammer milled or chopped strand fibres, on the mechanical properties of a commercial RIM polyurethane elastomer has been studied with particular emphasis on creep at elevated temperatures. The resultant reinforced reaction injection moulded (RRIM) composites are seen to have a broad fibre length distribution as well as a fibre orientation distribution. A statistical analysis of these two distributions is used in conjunction with the Cox-Krenchel model to enable composite performance to be predicted. A simple technique for predicting the creep behaviour of short fibre composites, first proposed by Darlington, 1 is applied to RRIM and is seen to be useful for such systems.