Preparation and Finite Element Analysis of Fly Ash/HDPE Composites for Large Diameter Bellows
Angxuan Wu,
Lan Jia,
Wenwen Yu,
Fengbo Zhu,
Fuyong Liu,
Yanqin Wang,
Guoyun Lu,
Shuhao Qin,
Dongyang Gao,
Hua Wang,
Xiaogang Wu,
Qiang Zheng
Affiliations
Angxuan Wu
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Lan Jia
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Wenwen Yu
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Fengbo Zhu
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Fuyong Liu
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Yanqin Wang
College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Guoyun Lu
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Shuhao Qin
National Engineering Research Center for Compounding and Modification of Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550014, China
Dongyang Gao
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Hua Wang
Kangmingyuan (Guizhou) Technology Development Co., Ltd., Anshun 561000, China
Xiaogang Wu
College of Biomedical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
Qiang Zheng
College of Materials Science & Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
In recent years, buried bellows have often had safety accidents such as pipeline bursts and ground subsidence due to the lack of adequate mechanical properties and other quality problems. In order to improve the mechanical properties of bellows, fly ash (FA) was used as a reinforced filler in high density polyethylene (HDPE) to develop composites. The FA was surface treated with a silane coupling agent and HDPE-g-maleic anhydride was used as compatibilizer. Dumbbell-shaped samples were prepared via extrusion blending and injection molding. The cross-section morphology, thermal stability and mechanical properties of the composites were studied. It was observed that when 10% modified FA and 5% compatibilizer were added to HDPE, the tensile yield strength and tensile breaking strength of the composites were nearly 30.2% and 40.4% higher than those of pure HDPE, respectively, and the Young’s modulus could reach 1451.07 MPa. In addition, the ring stiffness of the bellows was analyzed using finite element analysis. Compared with a same-diameter bellows fabricated from common commercially available materials, the ring stiffness increased by nearly 23%. The preparation method of FA/HDPE is simple, efficient, and low-cost. It is of great significance for the popularization of high-performance bellows and the high value-added utilization of FA.
