FABRICATION OF POLYPROPYLENE NANOCOMPOSITE FOR SUPERLATIVE REFRIGERATED VEHICLE PANELS

Refrigerated foods vehicle by road is made up of three-layered materials insulated panel that has insulation foam, situated intermediate to two high thermal conductive aluminum metal sheets. Usually, a loss of insulation value in a refrigerated vehicle every year is a result of the increase in heat absorption and heat transfer of the metal sheets, which affect the cooling temperature in a refrigerated vehicle panel chamber. The study aims at proposing the fabrication of polypropylene nanocomposite for superlative refrigerated vehicle panels, by producing and testing low-thermal conductive polymer-based composite materials with nanoclay (NC) particles for use in superlative refrigerated vehicle panels. The melt blending compounding method involved the pre-treatment of materials, preparation of composite samples, and the characterization of the new samples for their: mechanical, morphology, and thermal properties. The result of the study shows that melt blending influenced the composites’ mechanical, morphology, and thermal properties. Meanwhile, the processing route exhibited an intercalated morphology structure, which enhanced the composites’ strength, stiffness, and thermal conductivity. Finally, the sample with 3% nanoclay by weight had the optimum property and could be, recommended for refrigerated vehicle panel insulation.