Polypropylene and tire powder composite for use in automotive industry

Heliyon. 2019 Sep 7;5(9):e02405. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02405. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Abstract

In this work, we study and characterize 20%- and 30%-reinforced rubber tire powder and polypropylene composite to apply it in the engine encapsulation of commercial vehicles. We produce a prototype with 20% of rubber tire powder due to its better processability and carry out external noise analysis and the results show it is similar to the already available material and within the limits established by law, besides presenting a substantial 54-weight% decrease. In addition, the material guarantees a minimization of sound pollution - through the attenuation of noise by the composite - and environmental, by the reduction of inappropriate disposal of waste tires.

Keywords: Industrial engineering; Materials science; Physical chemistry; Structural engineering.