EFFECT OF HOT DRAWING ON THE PROPERTIES OF SHORT FIBER REINFORCED EXTRUDED SHEETS

The hot drawing of extruded composite sheets can be used to control the orientation of both matrix and reinforcing fibers. A study was made of the effect of draw ratio on the properties of an extruded polystyrene sheet containing 0 to 1 percent of short glass fibers. An increase in draw ratio resulted in an increase in fiber orientation. A model of a rigid fiber rotating in an elongational flow field was used to describe the effect of draw ratio on the final orientation distribution. An increase in draw ratio also caused an increase in the amount of fiber breakage. A shear-lag analysis was used to estimate the extent of damage as a function of draw ratio. It was also found that the mechanical properties were dependent upon both the draw ratio and fiber concentration.