Study Of The Optimal Micromechanical Behavior Of A Polymer Reinforced By Snail Shell Particles Using The Mori-Tanaka Numerical Model

The study of the micro mechanical behaviors of bio composites has become a concern of current scientific research. The use of this kind of research is due to the ecological, environmental and sustainable development advantages that these bio composites offer. As well as their economic advantages to satisfy industrial constraints. In this numerical study, the matrix used is polypropylene which is one of the polymers most used in the current industry thanks to its low cost, its availability and its interesting thermo mechanical properties and which finds its applications in transport, infrastructure, packaging, home applications and automotive industry etc. The bio load used is the particles of the snail shells, much neglected by researchers in terms of bio composites and which are chemically similar to calcium carbonates CACO3. The Mori-Tanaka model was able to predict the optimal micro mechanical properties of the polymer reinforced with the Snail Shell particles for different percentages ranging from 5 W% to 30 w%. The results showed that bio loading using snail shell particles improved Young’s modulus from 1034MPa (PP) to 1945 MPa at 30 W% of mixture. The tensile strength decreases slightly from 32.5 MPa to 26.5 MPa as well as better compatibility of the mixture. The Snail Shell Particles therefore show that they can replace classical loads in order to meet industrial requirements, especially in the plastics field.