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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
The main objective of this study is to determine the effects of short glass fiber (SGF) content and extrusion conditions such as screw speed and barrel temperature, on the mechanical properties and morphologies of structural composites produced by compounding SGFs with poly (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS). It was also aimed to determine the effects of adhesion at the fiber/matrix interface, which was promoted by incorporation of polyamide-6 (PA6) to the ABS/SGF composite. Results showed that increasing screw speed during extrusion decreased the average fiber length; therefore mechanical properties of the composites affected negatively. The increasing extrusion temperature decreased the fiber length degradation and higher tensile strength and modulus values were obtained. The use of PA6 in composites increased the interfacial adhesion, which was supported by SEM microphotographs; therefore, improved mechanical properties were obtained.