Volcanic Ash Reinforcement Concentration Effect on Thermal Properties of Polyvinyl Chloride Composites

This paper reports the results of experiments evaluating the thermal properties of volcanic ash (VA) reinforced polyvinyl chloride (PVC) composites with various concentrations. PVC matrix composites reinforced with various VA concentrations (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 wt.%) were manufactured by using a twin screw micro-compounder and an injection molding machine. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to monitor the changes in physical and chemical properties of VA reinforced PVC composites as a function of increasing temperature and time. Measuring the changes in weight of the material as a result of heating gives valuable information about thermal degradation of VA reinforced PVC composites. Therefore by using TGA, effect of volcanic ash concentration on thermal stability and degradation extent of PVC matrix composite was evaluated